KAMPALA – The Stanbic Business Incubator Limited (SBIL), a subsidiary of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited (SUHL), is inviting entrepreneurs to register and benefit from enhanced training under their Enterprise Development Program (EDP).
Tony Otoa, the SBIL Chief Executive (CE) said the invitation for this specialised training is open and has no deadline attached to it. He said the key focus is on three core areas namely, access to markets, access to finance and business operational skilling necessary for start-ups’ management and growth.
“SBIL has a range of offerings for individuals and companies that are interested in improving and scaling their businesses through skilling initiatives. This application is to help us understand you and your company, along with the needs and interests of your business such that we can support you accordingly,” he said.
This is the second call for 2023. The program is being supported with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), through Deutsche GesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ)’s Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) Programme.
In February, 70 entrepreneurs, with focus on women-led enterprises, were trained for two weeks. The program will continue enrolling different entrepreneurs and has a target of 500 beneficiaries over a period of six months.
Sector focus is on agribusiness, food and beverages, trade, consumer goods and supplies, green businesses, tourism, hospitality and catering services.
Others include construction, fabrication and civil works, transport and logistics, health, professional services, power, and infrastructure.
SBIL initially developed the Enterprise Development Program (EDP) in 2018 supporting 190 SMEs in Kampala, to focus on identifying and building the capacity of enterprises that could potentially penetrate and actively participate in Uganda’s natural resource sector.
In 2019, E4D began supporting the Incubator’s growth and expansion to support 300 Ugandan Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to become more competitive, attain sustainable growth while also creating jobs in Gulu and Mbarara districts. In 2021, E4D launched a new project to further upscale and expand the Incubator’s reach across the country to cover at least 20 districts through 4 branches.
The E4D Uganda programme Team Lead Donald Agaba, said, “E4D will continue to promote local employment through capacity development in partnership with the Incubator. MSMEs in Uganda play a critical role as a backbone to the economy and, a massive provider of jobs. This current partnership has created at least 1,377 jobs as of December 2022 according to early tracer study results.”
