Enterpreneurship
Uganda is a low-income country, with a young population and relatively high levels of poverty and unemployment or under-employment. The labour force is characterized by low skills and low productivity. The majority of Ugandans live in rural areas and the economy is highly dependent on the agricultural sector, which is the largest employer. Only 13.8% of working women are in formal employment, compared to 27.9% of working men (UBOS, 2013). To achieve higher development outcomes, Uganda’s economy has to transform to a higher productivity level, integrate all regions in the development process, and invest in human capital formation and productive employment creation.5 One of the avenues for development is promotion of a strong micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
The main objective is to enable entrepreneurs to access and utilize appropriate business skills, information and services aimed at achieving a sustainable and competitive private sector in the long run. Entrepreneurs are taken through key aspects of successfully starting, running and sustaining an enterprise. The program mainly targets those intending to start business, businesses in the early stages, businesses interested in expanding and, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The programme is demand driven and training is carried out in groups of 60 – 70 entrepreneurs. In general, the project mainly targets those intending to start business, businesses in the early stages, businesses interested in expanding and, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Other areas of focus include existing companies in agribusiness and service sectors, individuals with general retail operations who are seeking to diversify into new value-added activities and entrepreneurs who have benefited from specific grants or credit facilities and are seeking assistance to make effective use of such facilities. In the selection of the target beneficiaries, emphasis is given to women who form a significant part of the workforce in Uganda but still lag behind in this sector
The poor are very vulnerable to risks (such as illness or death of a household member, medical expenses, funeral costs, crop failure, the loss or theft of a key asset, or a dramatic change in prices), and microfinance services in Uganda have proven to help the poor to protect against these risks. Individuals and households pursue strategies to protect against risks ahead of time.