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During the workshop, which took place at the Golf Course Hotel in Kampala, issues including export preparedness, trade promotion and facilitation, product and market development, and entrepreneurial growth in Uganda were among the subjects covered.
The director of SMEs at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Angela Bagaine, stated during her keynote address that the lack of community trust impedes the growth of MSMEs.
“We examine companies and evaluate them based on our viewpoint. Since we don't trust one another, our enterprises are still confined to a tiny, closed area,” she said.
Bagaine went on to say that SMEs struggle with the lack of a market rate for staffing, which turns it into a negotiating chip.
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In the MSME world, “the quantity of employees is important, but the quality of employees is very important,” she said.
She once more emphasised the issue of SMEs not making enough investments and lacking company records, which makes it difficult for them to evaluate themselves.
“The majority of SMEs have not made wise investments to differentiate their companies from the competition. Because we lack the necessary documents, it might be challenging for many of us to evaluate our own performance,” she explained.
Bagaine said MSMEs have not yet learned what an enterprise should be due to a variety of problems. She urged them to educate themselves, classify their business, and determine where they fit.
Caroline Adriaensen, Head of Cooperation for the EU Delegation in Uganda, acknowledged that MSMEs play a significant role in Uganda and agreed to examine potential solutions for accelerated growth and development.
“MSMEs are strategically important for Uganda's annual absorption of up to 700,000 young people,” she said, adding that the European Union has developed a sustainable business foundation for Uganda.