Ugandan wins global essay competition
Nov 06, 2007
When Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) contacted David Musiime with the news that he had won their essay competition, he was thrilled but also a little surprised.
By Carol Kezaabu
When Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) contacted David Musiime with the news that he had won their essay competition, he was thrilled but also a little surprised.
“Though I’ve won some local essay competitions, I have entered so many international competitions and usually don’t even get a response,†says Musiime, a soft-spoken young man of medium build.
CIPE is a non-profit organisation affiliated to the US Chamber of Commerce. CIPE works with developing countries to build understanding of market-based democratic systems. It is a partner institution with the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda (ICGU) where Musiime was working as a research assistant when he heard about the competition.
His essay, which talked about the youth and entrepreneurship in Uganda, was the best in the Entrepreneurship and Leadership category, one of the three categories that the participants were asked to choose from. The other categories were Citizenship in a Democratic Society, and Educational Reform and Employment opportunities.
Asked why he picked this category, Musiime says: “I had leverage in that category because I was doing economics. It also struck a deeper interest in me than the others.â€
CIPE received a total of 445 essays from youth in 72 countries aged 18–30. Although Africa had the highest percentage of essays (31%), Uganda was not largely represented.
Musiime’s essay highlighted the skills that the youth in Uganda need to contribute to entrepreneurship. He also talked about the major impediments standing in the way of these young people such as high cost of finance and access to credit, lack of start up capital, and the poor incentive regime for local investors.
Musiime was rewarded with a cash prize of $1000 (about sh1.8m) and his essay will run as an Economic Reform Feature Service article later this year.
The 23-year-old aspiring entrepreneur was born to Dr S.A Mwanahewa, a Human Rights lecturer at Makerere University and Ms Placcy Arinaitwe, a teacher. Musiime recently completed a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (Economics and Public Administration) at Makerere University.
At the University, Musiime did a number of internships. One such opportunity was with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), which he was awarded as a prize when he won the University Capital Markets challenge.
He also won a trip to South Africa at the time, to participate in training seminars at the Financial Services Board in Pretoria and other Financial Service Practitioners in Johannesburg. Hope Ejang, the Public Education Officer at CMA, says Musiime was very creative; if he hit a snug, he would often find a solution without consulting his supervisors. He was always willing to take on challenges that his peers avoided.
Challenges have always been my niche. Opportunities don’t come on a silver plate. What people fear to do, I do, the more challenging the better,†he says. He is particularly saddened by the youth in Uganda who avoid challenges. Musiime plans to use the prize money as start up capital for a business.
Musiime is currently employed as a Business Development Officer at Profiles International - Uganda, a Human Resourse Management firm.
His dreams, however, stretch further than that.
Vincent Kaheeru, the Chief Executive Officer of ICGU, praised Musiime for exhibiting great potential, intelligence and focus when he was an intern at ICGU.
When Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) contacted David Musiime with the news that he had won their essay competition, he was thrilled but also a little surprised.
“Though I’ve won some local essay competitions, I have entered so many international competitions and usually don’t even get a response,†says Musiime, a soft-spoken young man of medium build.
CIPE is a non-profit organisation affiliated to the US Chamber of Commerce. CIPE works with developing countries to build understanding of market-based democratic systems. It is a partner institution with the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda (ICGU) where Musiime was working as a research assistant when he heard about the competition.
His essay, which talked about the youth and entrepreneurship in Uganda, was the best in the Entrepreneurship and Leadership category, one of the three categories that the participants were asked to choose from. The other categories were Citizenship in a Democratic Society, and Educational Reform and Employment opportunities.
Asked why he picked this category, Musiime says: “I had leverage in that category because I was doing economics. It also struck a deeper interest in me than the others.â€
CIPE received a total of 445 essays from youth in 72 countries aged 18–30. Although Africa had the highest percentage of essays (31%), Uganda was not largely represented.
Musiime’s essay highlighted the skills that the youth in Uganda need to contribute to entrepreneurship. He also talked about the major impediments standing in the way of these young people such as high cost of finance and access to credit, lack of start up capital, and the poor incentive regime for local investors.
Musiime was rewarded with a cash prize of $1000 (about sh1.8m) and his essay will run as an Economic Reform Feature Service article later this year.
The 23-year-old aspiring entrepreneur was born to Dr S.A Mwanahewa, a Human Rights lecturer at Makerere University and Ms Placcy Arinaitwe, a teacher. Musiime recently completed a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (Economics and Public Administration) at Makerere University.
At the University, Musiime did a number of internships. One such opportunity was with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), which he was awarded as a prize when he won the University Capital Markets challenge.
He also won a trip to South Africa at the time, to participate in training seminars at the Financial Services Board in Pretoria and other Financial Service Practitioners in Johannesburg. Hope Ejang, the Public Education Officer at CMA, says Musiime was very creative; if he hit a snug, he would often find a solution without consulting his supervisors. He was always willing to take on challenges that his peers avoided.
Challenges have always been my niche. Opportunities don’t come on a silver plate. What people fear to do, I do, the more challenging the better,†he says. He is particularly saddened by the youth in Uganda who avoid challenges. Musiime plans to use the prize money as start up capital for a business.
Musiime is currently employed as a Business Development Officer at Profiles International - Uganda, a Human Resourse Management firm.
His dreams, however, stretch further than that.
Vincent Kaheeru, the Chief Executive Officer of ICGU, praised Musiime for exhibiting great potential, intelligence and focus when he was an intern at ICGU.