UIA asked to provide land to local investors

By Prossy Nandudu

Uganda Investment Authority has been asked to explain the procedure of allocating land to Ugandan entrepreneurs so they too can acquire land and expand or establish their businesses.

The appeal was made by the Alex Ariho, the coordinator of the Universities, Business and Research in Agricultural Innovation (UniBRAIN) while presenting a paper on fostering mentor-ship in Agribusiness innovations at Imperial Golf hotel Entebbe.

 This was during a consultative mentorship workshop organized by the Pan African Agribusiness and Agro forestry Consortium (PanAAC) and UniBRAIN.

The meeting was aimed at reviewing the 1st and 2nd quarter mentorship programs, on successes and challenges and also to develop a process for building and maintaining effective mentoring relationships among other activities.
Under the programme, students with business ideas are mentored and incubated in different industries to be guided on how they can go about their business until they produce results for the second time, before being released to start on their own.
However most of these like other local businesses, don’t have land to start from, in the process many give up while some may not be aware if UIA could consider them while allocating land.

 “This is where government through the investment Authority should come out and allocate actually free land to some of these students or show the procedure of getting land for sustainability,” said Ariho.

In Uganda, students into coffee seedling multiplication and poultry are being incubated at the Makerere university agriculture research institute Kabanyoro under the mentorship of the Consortium for enhancing University Responsiveness to Agribusiness Development (CURAD).

 While those into banana wine making from Kyambogo University are being mentored by Afri banana products limited, adding value to bananas along the entire value chain.

Ariho said that the mentoring process which is on-going in selected universities for students with entrepreneurial minds will produce young and aggressive entrepreneurs who will need the land to start up and become independent.
 
“When these entrepreneurs are natured, we shall have a whole new breed of graduates who will be creating jobs along the entire agriculture chain at the same time employing fellow jobless graduates,
 
In response, Charles Omusan from the Investment and after care division at Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) assured members that such investors are considered under the SME desk.
 
He further explains that under the SME desk, such entrepreneurs are given free land for a period of time and when they are able, they can go through procedures of acquiring land for established investors.
 
Procedures of acquiring land under the Uganda Investment Authority
 Omusana further explains the guidelines to follow when acquiring land.

These include;
A detailed project proposal, total amount of investment in US dollars, investors ability to raise the funds to start up the enterprise, impact on the community in terms of employment, amount or acreage of land needed, impact on the environment, these are accompanied by articles of association, license, business plan, certificate of registration, among others.

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