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ARUA - The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) says only half a million businesses are formalised out of the over one million in the whole country.

Out of the 530,000 registered businesses in the country, URSB says the majority are located in the capital city, Kampala.

Therefore, in a bid to increase the number of formalised businesses in the country, URSB has launched a mass registration exercise in the West Nile region.

The move, according to URSB, is aimed at addressing business informality among entrepreneurs and small-scale business owners in the region and the country.

The initiative was launched during a stakeholder engagement meeting for the West Nile last week in Arua district.

Furthermore, the mass registration that was officially launched by Justice Minister Norbert Mao aims to register at least 850,000 businesses across the country.

URSB deputy Registrar General Finance and Administration Alex Anganya said formalisation of businesses helps in achieving the National Development Plan (NDP) goals and increasing household incomes.

According to him, registration of businesses comes with a number of benefits to both the business owner and the government in the growth of the economy.

Anganya said the large informal sector, estimated at over 50% of the country, poses a challenge to economic growth.

Hope Okeny, a member of the URSB Board, said formalisation of the businesses will spur immediate development in the West Nile region as the business owners will have easy access to financial institutions.

Arua Resident City Commissioner Charles Ichogor expressed confidence that the initiative will enhance the competitiveness of small-scale business owners, enabling them to participate in government tenders and bidding processes and access credit from financial institutions.