Business analyst Kimbowa blasts Ugandan entrepreneurs' attitude

Business analyst and motivational speaker Peter Kimbowa has blasted the lackluster way in which Ugandan entrepreneurs approach business.

Speaking at an engagement with suppliers organized by dfcu Bank at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Kimbowa tore into what he called the "pretense" of Ugandan enterprises.

"Our businesses are just in survival mode, sparse growth and decline. Why? Why is Mauritius doing better?" he said.

"How come ordinary businessmen in Durban, Botswana have businesses on the stock exchange in Johannesburg?"

While Uganda has less than 20 companies listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange, over 400 are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited. In Nairobi, there are over 60.

"How come in Nairobi, family businesses have existed for 100 years, and in Uganda, only ten?"

"What we have in Uganda is an exaggerated opinion of ourselves. We are simple and confused people but we do not know it. We think that once we have got a big car and house, then we have made it!"

Kimbowa was disappointed that only a handful of suppliers had attended the engagement with the bank.

 "It is not Museveni's problem (that many suppliers did not attend). It is yours as suppliers. The failure of entrepreneurship in Uganda is with Ugandan cultural mindset," he said.