Small and medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs in Uganda have urged the government to establish a one-stop service centre bringing together agencies responsible for regulating and formalising businesses, saying it would cut bureaucracy and improve business survival.
The call was made on Friday by 45 entrepreneurs graduating from a three-month Enterprise Development Programme (EDB) organised by Uganda Development Bank (UDB) at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Mbarara Campus in Kamukuzi, Mbarara City.
The entrepreneurs said a centralised hub hosting agencies such as the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and UDB would simplify registration, compliance and access to finance.
‘Most of Ugandans find it hard to formalise their businesses because of the bureaucracy involved and time consuming, moving from one office to another in different locations. If these offices had a one stop center it would be easy to get all the information needed easily,’ said Ms Kyomukama, director of Jane K Events.
Julius Mucunguzi, director of Foundation Foods, said a centralised system would support business growth by making services more accessible.
‘Having a centralized system helps entrepreneurs to access several services like registration, tax compliance, certification, financial and advisory services which are key in sustaining businesses because it becomes convenience, accessibility, transparency,’ he said.
MUBS Mbarara Campus director Richard Akisimiire said many SMEs fail due to information gaps and poor financial discipline.
‘Most of the SMEs do not reach their fifth birthday, we need to deepen training to address the challenge of information gaps and financial literacy. The government agencies are key in this and having them easily accessible is key in the growth and sustainability of these enterprises,’ Akisimiire said.
UNBS certification manager Didas Muhereza said agencies involved in business formalisation are interdependent.
‘You cannot come for certification without paying taxes, here you need URA, you have to be registered and that is URSB so we need to work together to see how businesses are supported to grow in a convenient and flexible way,’ he said.
UDB director for Strategy and Corporate Affairs Allan Joshua Mwesiga said SMEs face structural challenges, particularly access to finance and sustainability.
‘This is the reason we have brought most of these agencies to interface with these entrepreneurs. They face a lot of challenges in managing their businesses well. We need to have the whole ecosystem that enables formalisation of businesses,’ he said.
Mwesiga said UDB aims to build a sustainable pool of entrepreneurs by equipping them with skills needed to become investor-ready.
‘SMEs make up 90 percent of Uganda’s private sector and contribute over 75 percent to our GDP. They are the backbone of the economy and key driver of job creation yet studies have shown that two out of three startups in Uganda fall in the first year,’ he said.
Team leader for the graduates Julian Mumpe said the training covered entrepreneurship mindset, bookkeeping, budgeting, governance, proposal writing, marketing, business succession, and debt and risk management