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Billionaire Sudhir reveals when to borrow and when not, to start a business

By
Our Reporter
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Tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia

Many business people ask Ugandan billionaire Sudhir Ruparelia how he made his fortune. It is a question he is accustomed to answering.

Sudhir, possibly the country’s most charismatic businessman is the chairman of Ruparelia Group, one of the top taxpayers in Uganda. The businessman who rose from a taxi driver to being listed among Africa’s top 100 billionaires, is an inspiration to many people, but rarely appears in public forums to talk about himself, and how he made his money.

The entrepreneur who built Ruparelia Group brick by brick, shared his wealth of business wisdom in www.billionairetomorrow.com webinar recently. Billionaire Tomorrow is a publication dedicated to the hard work and struggles of wealth creation in Africa from the dreamers to billionaires in the making.

The advice from the property mogul is worth paying attention to, for anyone who wants to build a solid business empire spanning Uganda, Rwanda, UAE, India, United Kingdom, among other countries, like Sudhir has done.

Three decades ago, Sudhir was a normal businessman in Kampala city. He had used his savings as a taxi driver in the United Kingdom to start a business in his motherland, Uganda.

Today, the billionaire’s thoughts drawn from the experience of steadily growing his empire is priceless.

Sudhir and his family have business interests in hospitality, education, real estate, finance, insurance, labor export, and agriculture, among others.

In series, we shall be bringing you tips on what Sudhir says will help your business survive the turbulent seas of entrepreneurship and business management.

He told ‘Billionaires Tomorrow’ website his two cents on borrowing to start a business.

“Do not expand very quickly, outside your means,” he cautions on wise use of capital.

“Allow some form of organic growth. So long as you have a good amount of cash flow coming in, you need to first focus on projects which you can fund.” He said.

One might imagine, since Sudhir made his fortune, partly because of his investment in financial institutions, he would advise business people to borrow to start their businesses.

No. He doesn’t.

“Avoid borrowing if you can,” he wisely, points out. Instead, the billionaire, says, “First, try and grow according to the cash flow you have and are creating. It is probably the best option. Because the truth is said, opportunities come all the time, especially when you have good cash flow. Take those opportunities.”

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Approved suppliers promote customer’s ability to repay credit contract – Adad Iraguha

By
Geoffery Serugo
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The Head of Commercial Asset Finance at Absa Bank Uganda and president of the Uganda Leasing Association, Adad Iraguha

The Head of Commercial Asset Finance at Absa Bank Uganda and president of the Uganda Leasing Association, Adad Iraguha has revealed that approved suppliers and dealers in Commercial Asset Finance have led to promotion of the customer’s ability and willingness to repay the credit contract.

Iraguha said during a virtual discussion on the Commercial Asset Finance industry in Uganda. Asset finance is the practice of using a company’s balance sheet assets as a security to borrow money or take out a loan against what you already own. This provides a secure and easy way of getting working capital for business.

The commonly leased assets in Uganda include; grey motor vehicles, plant and machinery and brand new motor vehicles. The amount loaned depends on the value of these assets which the finance is secured against.

Iraguha warned that Suppliers’ non-performance could have a major bearing on the future market value of the asset. Factors such as whether the supplier is merely an agent or has manufacturing representation in the country or is directly owned by the manufacturer are very important in risk assessment.

“A supplier is only as good as his ability to honour future servicing, maintenance and warranty obligations. Clients often do not honour there agreements if the asset is not functional. The quality of the supplier becomes more important if they offer any guarantee of any nature what so ever and for this reason, we will prescribe special controls in this instance,” he said.

He said the quality of a supplier also has an effect on asset quality in different countries. An asset that retains value in one country may not have the same value in another country. This anomaly is usually caused by the strength and historical stability of the supplier.

Some assets have lower resale values than others because of the nature of work they do or because of a high degree of obsolescence, which is sometimes caused by frequent technological changes or the work application of the asset. Computers for example which are continually subject to technology changes, have little or no future market value.

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Top Arab blogger jets into country, to pay all expenses for former housemaid’s wedding

By
Our Reporter
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Top Arab blogger jets into country, to pay all expenses for former housemaid's wedding

Renown United Arab Emirates (UAE) social media influencer and blogger Khalid Al Ameri and family yesterday evening jetted into Uganda to honour their promise of attending the wedding ceremony of their former Ugandan housemaid.

According to the YouTuber who is known for his daily videos about life with his Arab wife Salama Mohamed, their helper identified as Sarah who is from Uganda worked for them for six years.

Khalid and wife Salama Mohamed have built a huge international social media following over the years through creating funny and lighthearted videos of their daily family life and adventures as well as sharing stories of inspiration and triumph.

The couple in December last year shared a video on their socials in which they were seeing off Sarah. The biggest highlight was the fond affection and acts of kindness the family exchanged with her.

In the video, the couple pledged to pay for all the expenses of Sarah’s wedding and to also be there as witnesses on her big day. This was to thank her for her dedicated service to their family.

The video went viral on social media with over a million views on YouTube and Instagram and yesterday, the family landed on Ugandan soil to honor their promise.

Khalid during the interview at Entebbe Airport described Sarah as good ambassador for Uganda and her hospitality.

“It’s an honour to be here in the pearl of Africa. Sarah gave my family a very beautiful introduction to Uganda, she’s an incredible ambassador, she represents you with the utmost respect, dignity, work ethic and kindness. She never was a worker to our family but a sister,” Khalid said.

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Private companies post growth in business activities in March – Stanbic Bank

By
Our Reporter
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Stanbic Bank

There are signs that the Ugandan economy is gradually returning to the normal. Growth and rise in business activities of the private sector, as seen at the end of the first quarter are pointing to that.

The headline Stanbic Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 53.2 in March, up from 51.2 in February signaling an improvement in business conditions for the second month running. The latest reading was the highest since last November and is just above the series average of 52.9.

Sponsored by Stanbic Bank and produced by IHS Markit, the monthly survey involves a questionnaire to some 400 purchasing managers and has been conducted since June 2016. It covers the sectors of agriculture, industry, construction, wholesale & retail and services.

The headline PMI figure provides an early indication of operating conditions in Uganda.

Ronald Muyanja, the Head of Trading at Stanbic Bank Uganda said “New orders increased for the second successive month, with a number of respondents signaling a rise in customer numbers. This expansion in new business aligns to signs of a return to a more normal economic environment and the reopening of schools contributed to a ninth successive increase in output. All five broad sectors covered by the survey recorded growth in activity for the first time since last October. A number of respondents indicated that they had secured new customers during the month.”

The PMI is a composite index, calculated as a weighted average of five individual sub-components: New Orders (30%); Output (25%); Employment (20%); Suppliers’

Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks of Purchases (10%). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.

According to the latest report, firms also remained optimistic regarding the 12-month outlook for output; with companies expecting further improvements in new business in the coming months.

Some 88% of respondents predicted an expansion over the coming year with just 3% expressing a pessimistic outlook. A number of respondents indicated that they expect new orders to ramp up in the coming months, leading to positive output projections. The reopening of schools was also predicted to support improvements in activity.

Increases in new orders led to rises in both employment and purchasing activity during March. Although material shortages caused delays in the receipt of purchased items from suppliers, inventories increased for the third month in a row.

Commenting on the employment situation Muyanja said, “Rising workloads led to an increase in employment during March. This is the second in as many months following an equally long period of reduction around the turn of the year. Wholesale and retail were the only monitored sectors to buck the wider trend and post a decrease in staffing levels at the end of the first quarter.”

Staff costs decreased for the third time in the past four months during March with falls seen in the services and wholesale & retail sectors. That said, the vast majority of respondents (89%) kept their wages and salaries unchanged over the month.

In contrast to lower staff costs, there were higher purchase costs – particularly increases in electricity and water charges, cement and various food products, drove a rise in overall input prices.

The passing on of higher input costs to customers meant that output prices were increased for the third consecutive month at the end of the first quarter.

Despite new orders rising for the second month running in March, latest data suggested that spare capacity remains in the private sector. Backlogs of work have decreased in each month since the survey began in June 2016 with 38% of respondents signaling a decline in March.

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Archbishop Lwanga was an open book that stood for truth – Bishop Serverus Jumba

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Late Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga.

Masaka Diocese Catholic Bishop Serverus Jumba eulogized the late Archbishop of Kampala Diocese Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga saying he was an open book that stood for the truth in the country and beyond.

Bishop Jumba said during the requiem mass held at Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine Namugongo. The Archbishop was on Holy Saturday found dead in his room. According to a post-mortem report from Mulago national referral hospital, Dr Lwanga succumbed to Ischemic heart disease following coronary heart thrombosis.

During the service, the Bishop Jumba said; “We have lost a shepherd and great leader barely a few months after the passing of Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa. Archbishop Lwanga’s death has become the talk of town.”

“We pray that you (Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga) our beloved may you hear God’s voice. Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master,” Bishop Jumba prayed.

He said the fallen Archbishop has been an open book that stood for the truth, down to earth, passionate about human rights, breathed and lived it.

“All church leaders are confident that he is with the lord. May the Lord open his arms and welcome him into his kingdom.”

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Besigye apologizes over comments made about Archbishop Kizito Lwanga death

By
Our Reporter
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Dr. Kiiza Besigye, the former FDC president

Former Forum for Democratic Change-FDC President Dr.Kizza Besigye has apologized to the Catholic Church over comments he recently made in regards to the death of Kampala Archbishop, Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga.

On Monday April 5, Besigye posted on his social media accounts saying that the post mortem, which revealed that Lwanga died of a heart attack caused by a blood clot, was inconclusive.

“What would have helped reduce suspicion of foul play is a postmortem report that conclusively showed a “natural” cause of sudden death. This would be easily demonstrable; like a blood clot blocking blood supply to the heart, lungs or the brain; or, a ruptured blood vessel in brain. The day-long postmortem exam that was carried out didn’t show any such cause; it’s reported to be INCONCLUSIVE!” Besigye said.

Besigye added that during Easter holiday of 2018, Archbishop Lwanga made a startling revelation of how he was being spied on by government and that the Archbishop had been a courageous and strong voice pointing out government excesses, like Human Rights abuses, land-grabbing, corruption etc.

However, Besigye has now come out and said he could have been misled by sources who gave him incorrect information.

Below is Besigye’s statement;

A CORRECTION AND FOCUS ON OUR DUTY, AS WE MOURN ARCHBISHOP KIZITO LWANGA:

Yesterday, I posted on this page my opinion regarding the sudden passing of Archbishop Kizito Lwanga.

In that post, I referred to an article of the Daily Monitor newspaper of 5th March 2021 headed: “Lwanga’s postmortem results still inconclusive”.

It said that having failed to see any of the easily seen causes, the doctors had “opted to carry out further toxicological and histological analysis; the first to find out if there’s poison in the body,..”

I also relied on some other sources that corroborated the Daily Monitor story.

These sources seem to have had incorrect information, from what has since been formally said by the Catholic Church and the doctors involved in the process.

My apologies to the readers who may have been consumed by the inaccurate information and, similarly, to the Catholic Church and late Archibishop Lwanga’s family.

The important point I wanted to highlight though, and which should not be discounted at all, is the circumstance under which the late Archibishop died.

The Archbishop had personally and publicly complained several times of intimidation and threats coming from the government.

Since the January 2021 elections, Mr M7 has warned the Catholic Church and Buganda/ Baganda and promised to crush those he considers subversive.

This coming from a person that doesn’t just exercise powers of the President of Uganda, but is clearly exercising all “sovereign” power, is a matter that shouldn’t be taken lightly at all.

Northern Uganda, Teso and Kasese regions know what it means to be “crushed”.

Hundreds of people are yet to be accounted for in Buganda, since the November 2020 killings. A state of terror reigns.

Archbishop Lwanga has been a courageous voice against the state of terror and rampant Human Rights abuses. He raised his voice on the matter on Good Friday.

Mr Museveni or anyone occupying the office of President of Uganda should have no right to intimidate, threaten or indeed, oversee the kidnapping, torture and killing of Ugandans.

Respect for our rights; the rule of law; democratic governance; and equitable socioeconomic development will remain elusive if we don’t rally together to challenge and fight back against tyrannical rule. Archbishop Lwanga played his role.

Over to you.

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Rakai Woman MP declares intention to contest for Speaker of Parliament

By
Our Reporter
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Rakai Woman MP Juliet Suubi Kinyamatama

The battle for who becomes Speaker when the 11th Parliament convenes for its first sitting has attracted four people so far.

The latest is Rakai District Woman MP, Juliet Kinyamatama who has announced her intention to vie for Speaker.

The MP made the revelation while talking to the press in Parliament on Tuesday morning.

“I have no fear for anyone, because when you’re in Parliament your all equal until voted to various positions, I am here to represent Ugandans. As voted for Speaker I am not going to serve any individual, I am going to serve Ugandans,” Kinyamatama said.

Other MPs who have already expressed interest for the seat are incumbent Rebecca Kadaga, Jacob Oulanyah and Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda.

The new Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament will be elected in May by the Members of Parliament after their swearing-in.

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Court allows URA to re-inspect Bobi Wine’s armoured car

By
Our Reporter
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Bobi Wine's armoured car

The Civil Division of High Court has allowed the Uganda Revenue Authority-URA to go ahead and inspect the bulletproof vehicle recently bought for the National Unity Platform party leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, for the purpose of assessing taxes levied during its acquisition.

Bobi Wine had run to court to save his car from being impounded by the tax body.

According to Justice Emmanuel Baguma, Kyagulanyi has not presented evidence in his application to show that the re-calling of the said motor vehicle would cause him an irreparable injury which cannot be compensated by an award of damages. He has dismissed the application as improper.

He added that the Court was not satisfied with Kyagulanyi’s claim that his main worry or concern not to take back the said vehicle for re-verification was that it is his main means of transport and his personal security.

“It is therefore my considered view that the applicant has not adduced evidence to show that the re-calling of the said motor vehicle for re-verification or reexamination will cause him irreparable injury which cannot be compensated by an award of damages. The application therefore fails and it is hereby dismissed,” Justice Baguma ruled.

A few weeks after the January polls, Bobi Wine unveiled his car after which URA came out and said the Toyota Land Cruiser UBJ 667F was declared to customs as an ordinary vehicle and not an armored one, and therefore, less taxes were paid for it.

The revenue authority can now proceed to impound and re-examine his armoured vehicle in case Bobi Wine fails to take it to URA by himself.

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UTB, Uganda Airlines recommit to promote tourism

By
Our Reporter
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Uganda Airlines Staff pose for a group photo at the Uganda Equator

In a bid to promote Uganda’s unrivaled tourism potential to the world, Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) hosted staff of Uganda Airlines, on a 6-day tourism familiarization trip to South Western and Eastern Uganda.

The expedition covered Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for an experience with the prized silverbacks; Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s second most-visited National Park and the tourism city of Jinja, home to the Source of River Nile, the world’s longest river.

The Uganda Airlines team as well experienced the Equator, the Igongo Museum where they immersed themselves into the diverse and rich traditional history of the region including culture, food, dressing, music, housing and more. At Bwindi, they experienced the adventuresome Gorilla tracking and went on to feed their curiosity at Queen Elizabeth National Park where they saw several wildlife species such as buffalos, antelopes, lions, bush pigs and birds, among other wildlife species. They also relished the famous Kazinga Channel boat ride, perhaps the best opportunity to see the largest collection of animals in the Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The familiarization trip is within a landmark agreement signed between UTB and the national carrier in February 2020 to combine efforts to promote the tourism potential of Brand Destination Uganda. Under the 3-year agreement, Uganda Airlines committed to brand its offices in various cities and airports across the world with Brand Destination Uganda messages as well as create opportunities to promote Uganda on some of the airline’s platforms and assets such as sales offices, aeroplanes, inflight magazines, inflight entertainment systems, online platforms- including website and social media sites.

Reciprocally, UTB through its tourism promotional campaigns and platforms, committed to present Uganda Airlines as the most convenient way to travel to Uganda in additions to empowering its staff with knowledge on Uganda as a tourist destination.

The duo committed to run joint marketing campaigns, sharing market and research data as well as jointly develop #VisitUganda tour and travel packages for special events and holiday to motivate passengers to fly Uganda Airlines.  All these and other initiatives, over and above increasing awareness about brand Destination Uganda in several key African source markets, should also ultimately further lower the cost- both in time and money of travelling to Uganda- whether it is for business or leisure.

Commenting about the initiative, Uganda Tourism Board’s CEO, Lilly Ajarova reiterated the Airline’s strategic importance to the promotion and positioning of Destination Uganda as a competitive destination.

“Given then the economic consequences of Covid-19 on economies and household incomes, the cost of travelling to individual destinations and costs at those destinations, will have an enormous impact on travel decisions in short to medium term. As such, the availability of direct flights to Uganda aboard the young and economic fleet, that offer unbeatable economics, increased operational efficiency and superior passenger comfort, gives Destination Uganda a competitive advantage,” she said.

She added that the trip was aimed at preparing Uganda Airlines to deliver the first experience of what Uganda has to offer.

“World over, airlines, especially national carriers offer a unique opportunity to deliver the very first experience of a destination- in this case, Destination Uganda. The food, the inflight information and entertainment as well as how well the staff across the entire airline chain are well informed about Destination Uganda, all combined are important in improving and influencing visitor perceptions in our favour,” she added.

Christine Kimbugwe, in charge of Holiday Packages and Tours at Uganda Airlines,said that the familiarization trip was just in time, as the airline prepared to launch its long-haul flights.

The Uganda Airlines team was drawn from the carrier’s offices in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya- countries that are among the largest sources of visitor numbers to Uganda. The trip comes ahead of the much-awaited Uganda Airlines’ inter-continental operations to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

While London is one of the top sources of tourists to Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, India and China are UTB’s latest target markets.

Lenny Malasi, the Uganda Airlines, Kenya Sales Manager said that the trip was eye-opening about Uganda, which he said, was indeed the Pearl of Africa.“We now need to go back and strategise jointly on what we can do better to improve Uganda’s Tourism potential along our existing and new routes, he noted.”

He added, “Uganda is very attractive. This trip has opened up our eyes in terms of how we can showcase this attractiveness to Kenya, but also the entire world. This knowledge, we have gained, will further help us to position Uganda Airlines as a strategic tool in market Destination Uganda to the routes we fly to in Africa as well as the upcoming strategic routes to London, Mumbai, Guangzhou and Bangkok. These are very critical tourism markets.”

Ms Ajarova said that the Uganda Airlines partnership is part of an ongoing strategy to work with “both the private sector and other experts to develop innovative itineraries that optimize tourism value by encouraging longer stay and increasing expenditure along the value chain.”

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President Samia says Tanzania needs to re-evaluate its position on #Covid-19 as orders lift on media ban

By
Our Reporter
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President Samia

Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan ( has announced plans to set up a task force of experts to examine the country’s #Covid-19 measures.

She said the team will be guided by remedies suggested by the global health authorities to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Suluhu spoke at State House in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday after administering the oaths of new and reshuffled permanent secretaries and deputies.

She added: We cannot isolate ourselves as if we are an Island but also we cannot accept everything brought to us, we cannot continue just reading about #Covid 19 Worldwide, yet Tanzania is all blank, it is incomprehensible

According to her, Tanzania needs to have a clear and understandable position regarding the pandemic so that it can make informed decisions.

Meanwhile President Samia has today also ordered authorities at the Information Ministry to lift a ban on some media outlets in a statement that could define her as a democratic leader who has nothing against freedom of expression.

“I am told you revoked licenses of some media outlets, including some online television stations. You should lift the ban but tell them to follow the law and government guidelines,” she said at the same function.

She added “But make sure that whoever is given a go ahead to operate a media company does follow the law of the country,”. “You must not ban just because you have the power to do so…Lift the bans but make sure they follow the government’s regulations and guidelines,” she said.

Tanzania has a number of laws that are deemed repressive by media practitioners that have seen a rise in authorities’ ban on newspapers during the past few years.

For instance, the Media Services Act of 2016 gives officials powers to shut down media organizations that violate their licenses by confiscating printing machines.

President Samia’s stance is a complete shift from that of her predecessor, the late John Magufuli, who is on record as having publicly warned newspapers in 2017.

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