More than 200 Business Development Services (BDS) providers drawn from across Uganda have been equipped with business management knowledge, necessary enough to catalyze enterprise growth as well as address the ecosystem limitations of insufficient specialized and qualified BDS providers.
The BDS Providers Training titled, ‘Growth Partners’ program, was premised on BDS standards that the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), supported by Mastercard Foundation developed through a technical working group in 2022.
Speaking at the end of this training in Kampala yesterday, Ms Damali Ssali, the PSFU chief programs and projects officer noted that this training has furnished participants with skills required to improve their businesses and compete favourably in the market.
She challenged entrepreneurs to use the knowledge acquired better run their businesses through specialization and working with the right human resource.
“As an entrepreneur, you must be aware that you can not do everything. You can’t be the innovator, the lawyer, the salesperson, the accountant and the marketer. Focus on what you are very good at and then work with other competitive people to deliver quality requests for your customers and yourself,” Ms Ssali said, adding;
“You were selected out of more than 1000 applicants to catalyze the development of the BDS ecosystem for our country. PSFU is looking forward to realizing the impact of this training program on your businesses, but also on the broader business ecosystem, emphasizing accountability and continuous improvement.”
The participants were selected through a competitive application and evaluation process based on their placement and ability to impact enterprise development in their respective communities. Through the Program, BDS providers were equipped with the required information on Uganda’s newly formulated business development support standards, tools, mentorship and resources needed to drive sustainable business growth.
With the completion of this training, MSMEs now have a diverse range of BDS providers across the country that are equipped with practical strategies to navigate business challenges and seize available opportunities from all sectors.
Alawi Mutebi, the founder of Eurosat Group of Companies and one of the participants in this training noted that this training has given them a better understanding of the SMEs ecosystem with a clear explanation of unique SME problems and how to how to best address them.
“I have got to clearly understand that as BDS Providers, we also need to work on our companies’ processes. It is important that our houses are in order before we go out to fix problems faced by the small businesses we are supporting. With this training, I am now able to first diagnose the SME businesses’ problems before making recommendations.”
