Owners of 500 business enterprises are undergoing a three-week training programme with priority given to women-led start-ups.
The training is funded by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)’s Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) Programme. The training started on Monday, February 20, 2023.
Speaking at the training launch, at the SBIL premises in Kololo in Kampala, SBIL Chief Executive, Tony Otoa, said the training will be delivered with a key focus in three core areas namely; access to markets, access to finance and business operational skilling necessary for start-ups’ management and growth.
Otoa said priority has been given to female-owned enterprises. However, to qualify for the training, these businesses had to prove that they had been in existence for more than two years, had at least five employees and were operating within Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso.
SBIL initially developed the Enterprise Development Programme (EDP) in 2018 supporting 190 SMEs in Kampala, to focus on identifying and building the capacity of enterprises that could potentially penetrate and actively participate in Uganda’s natural resource sector.
In 2019, E4D began supporting the Incubator’s growth and expansion to support 300 Ugandan Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to become more competitive, attain sustainable growth while also creating jobs in Gulu and Mbarara districts.
In 2021, E4D launched a new project to further upscale and expand the Incubator’s reach across the country to cover at least 20 districts through 4 branches.
The E4D Uganda programme Team Leader, Donald Agaba, said E4D will continue to promote local employment through capacity development in partnership with the Incubator.
He discussed the needs of MSMEs in Uganda and their critical role as a backbone to the economy and a massive provider of jobs.
He mentions that this current partnership has created at least 1,377 jobs as of December 2022, according to early tracer study results.
“Key sectors of focus include agribusiness, food and beverages, trade, consumer goods and supplies, green businesses, tourism, hospitality and catering services,”Agaba said.
“Others include; construction, fabrication and civil works, transport and logistics, health, professional services, power, and infrastructure,”Agaba added.