KAMPALA–The Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU), a financial organization that provides grants to financial service providers, network operators, financial companies and non-bank financial service organizations to test, pilot and/or scale up technology driven financial services.
According to the MoU signed from the ministry’s offices in Kampala, FSDU will help provide access to appropriate financial services for small and medium enterprises.
Speaking to journalists at the ceremony, FSDU executive director Jacqueline Musiitwa said her organisation had already set aside £4million (about Shs19b) towards the cause.
“Uganda is the world’s most entrepreneurial country in the whole world. We always give birth to micro, small scale and medium enterprises (MSMEs) but unfortunately many hardly live to see their first birthday,” Musiitwa said.
She said the MoU was intended to supplement government’s efforts in strengthening SMEs in the country.
Musiitwa further added that PSDU’s budget of £4million will mainly go towards research and benchmarking to help them come up with a better policy.
Reacting to the MoU, Kyambadde commended PSDU and said her ministry has established the MSMEs directorate to grapple with the numerous challenges SMEs face.
She said there is already an MSME policy approved by Cabinet as well as other policies, strategies, programmes and projects which will streamline MSME development.
She cited Consumer Protection Policy,National Leather Policy, the National Industrial Development Strategy and the National Textiles Policy, among the policies and strategies already in place.
“I am confident the MoU we are signing today will drive forward the development of MSMEs and will also go along way in formalising the operation of MSMEs,” Kyambadde said.
