Samuel Ocanya is the head of financial inclusion at Letshego Uganda, a microfinance company that offers SME, mortgage and education loans among other lending products. He spoke to Julius Businge on how small and medium enterprises can overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Most businesses have reported a drop in revenue and …
Read More »SMEs tipped to invest more in long term capital
Long-term capital ensures long-life for the business Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Financial experts have blamed the collapse of many companies over the last one year to the kind of capital that most of them use to run their activities. According to the Capital Markets Authority-CMA, the most common …
Read More »Lenders advised on ‘workable’ women financing products
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Small and medium women entrepreneurs have asked the government and financial institutions to streamline financing models to suit the nature of their businesses. This follows a study on the impact of financing sources for women and how COVID-19 affected their livelihoods. The study, by the …
Read More »Which SMEs have accessed COVID-19 stimulus package?
Many have attempted to apply for the funds but failed to get it Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Lilian Alinda is the proprietor for a two-year old company, Moment Fashions & Films Limited located in Kayunga along Gayaza Road. When government announced a total national lockdown in March last …
Read More »Corruption, bureaucracy and politics failing emyooga
Beneficiaries claim Emyooga funds are hard to obtain due to bureaucracy, corruption and alleged unavailability of the money Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Small scale entrepreneurs have decried the corruption involved in the process of accessing government rescue packages especially Emyooga. Emyooga is a presidential initiative on wealth and job …
Read More »Covid-19 rescue packages were misinformed – Private sector
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Private sector leaders and financiers are calling for a review of the government stimulus package announced mid last year saying the measures were not well informed and are not bearing the expected fruit. The government announced more than 1 trillion Shillings in stimulus cash in …
Read More »Rescue packages not working – SMES
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The rescue package that was announced by governments around the world to help Small Scale Enterprises-SMEs to recover from the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic is yet to have a tangible impact on the sector. The pandemic compelled governments to shut down their economies …
Read More »Tony Elumelu Foundation 2021 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme Application Opens
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa’s philanthropist, Tony Elumelu Foundation, has opened its applications for a new entrepreneurship training. This year’s intervention prioritises the economic recovery of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and young African entrepreneurs, following the Covid-19 disruption to economic activities. To address the unique challenges arising …
Read More »UN says private sector key to realize sustainability agenda in Africa
Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | African governments should leverage capital, technology and manpower from industry to hasten realization of sustainability agenda and pandemic recovery in the continent, a senior UN official said on Thursday. Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy secretary-general, said that targeted investments from Africa’s indigenous businesses are required to …
Read More »Stanbic Bank and UN launch fund to support SMEs, revive Uganda’s economy
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Stanbic Bank Uganda has partnered with the United Nations and other funding agencies to create an enterprise fund that will provide low-cost financing for informal sector businesses to enable them recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubbed the Economic Enterprise Restart fund (EERF), it will aim to …
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