Hon. Ntabazi Harriet the State Minister for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives has advised the proprietors of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) to improve on the quality of their products if they are to compete on the International Market.
Hon. Ntabazi said that the main challenge facing Ugandan products currently is quality because as the Ministry they continue getting questions about it both locally and internationally.
“When we go international we tend to cover but the truth is some of the products from here are sub-standard,” she said
he State Minister made these remarks on Thursday while launching the 22nd EAC MSMEs Trade fair at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.
“We must very well prepare, organize and put together what we are going to showcase,” she said
As the Country prepare to join the Trade Fair which will take place between December 8 and 18, Hon. Ntabazi assured their full support but continued to call for embracement of class to solve the problem of trade barriers that have continued to
hinder trade across the EAC.
She also noted that government put in place some funds meant to relief MSMEs from covid-19 credit crunch under UDB but the team is
complaining that these are not picking up the money and it has continued to be a great challenge.
With the theme of this year’s edition being “Buy East African, Build East Africa for Resilience and Economic Development” Ntabazi also
hinted on drawing mobilization strategies because Uganda has no law that binds a business person stringently.
Edith Mwanje the Permanent Secretary Ministry of East African Community Affairs who also represented the Minister Alitwala Rebecca Kadaga revealed that this year through their Minister, of SMEs Democratic Republic of Congo has also been invited to come and exhibit for the first time.
“This trade fair will bring together over 1,000 exhibitors across EAC which will promote cross-border trade for regional products and services” Mwanje articulated.
Organized by the EAC in collaboration with the Ministries in charge of East Africa, the Private sector and the confederation of SMEs the trade fair will also facilitate talks of increasing value addition, encouraging business to business discussions and discussions on key regional trade topics
Mwanje however noted that for SMEs to catch up, they need support in capacity building in areas of standards, business licensing, registration, cross-border trade regulations and elimination of non-tarrif barriers that happen between borders.
Alfred Oyo the under secretary Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives who represented the Permanent Secretary highlighted that MSMEs in the EAC region constitute about 90% of business and contribute 60% and 29% of employment and GDP respectively.
“Supporting MSMEs is a sure way of fostering a people censored and market-driven community which is a key principle in governing the practical achievements of the EAC” he added.
The under secretary also called upon MDAs, private sector, academia and civil societies to come together towards the the development of MSMEs in Uganda and also retreated the Ministry’s commitment to work with all partners ready to support the overall development of MSMEs.
