UMA training for exporters on competitiveness kick off

KAMPALA - Uganda Manufacturers’ Association (UMA) has blamed the low competitiveness of locally produced products on falling quality awareness.

 It’s upon this background that it has organised a 3-day course on Manufacturing Excellence and use of solar energy in manufacturing between 29th and 31st October 2025.

According to a press statement issued by Dr Ezra Rubanda Muhumuza, they have partnered with the GIZ Project Development Programme (PDP), which fosters business partnerships for renewable energy projects in Uganda, to organise the 3-day training.

 “We are organising the above-mentioned course with a goal of improving participants' knowledge, skills and attitudes on how to use resources more efficiently and how to minimise waste,” said Muhumuza.

He added that this is a training course on Manufacturing Excellence aimed at enhancing resource efficiency and waste minimisation among industry players.

 He said that lack of such training is the reason why Ugandan products and services are less competitive than products of our neighbouring countries.

“Competitiveness is the ability of a company to offer products and services that meet the quality and quantity standards of both local and international markets at prices that provide sufficient returns on investment,” reads part of the statement.

Target participants

Muhumuza said that the course is suitable for process leaders and all key staff across the board who can enable organisational efficiency, not only production management.

“Such participants include Quality Managers, Factory engineers, Human Resource Managers, Production Section Heads and operators, Production Managers, Transport Managers, Procurement Officers, sales manager, warehouse supervisors and others,” he said.

Said Muhumuza: “The workshop is highly interactive and we shall use a variety of methods ranging from group discussions, group presentations and individual assignments.”

He added that one of the best practicing companies will be visited on the third day, and that is Psalms Food Industries Ltd, a modern factory with Best Manufacturing practices that is embracing solar energy as a method of minimising energy costs.

He said that the course objectives are to enable entrepreneurs make better plans and design the workplace.

“We also want them to adopt the use of cleaner production (CP) and Waste minimization techniques in production, as well as acquire skills of material Flow management and factory Lay Out,” he said, adding that they will also learn to apply different techniques to measure and improve productivity, as well as use data from budgets and financial statements to measure productivity.

According to recent Global Competitiveness Reports, Uganda's industries have been ranked lower than those in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and other countries.