Ogwang tips Soroti entrepreneurs to go digital

Jan 28, 2020

Minister Ogwang said hairdressers, tailors, carpenters, welders and mechanics should put their businesses online.

 
SOROTI - The State Minister for Information, Communication and Technology, Peter Ogwang, has asked the small and medium enterprises in the Teso sub-region to embrace the digital world to remain relevant and grow their market.
 
Ogwang said hairdressers, tailors, carpenters, welders and mechanics should put their businesses online.
 
"You can have a best saloon and garage in Soroti town but if it is not adveritised online, you stand to lose," Ogwang said on Tuesday.
 
He was launching the digital literacy training for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the eastern region sponsored by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) through the rural communications development fund.
 
 UCC is partnering with Federation of Small and Medium sized Enterprises in Uganda (FSME) to train close to 500 entrepreneurs at Light Secondary School in Soroti town.
 
Lawrence Aisu, the training co-ordinator of FSME, said they first trained 150 beneficiaries last year, followed by the current 120 and their target is to reach 500. The training will take three weeks.
 
This is the eighth of the series of regional trainings that have so far been conducted across the country in the districts of Kampala, Mbale, Mbarara, Kabarole, Arua, Gulu and Soroti.
 
Ogwang said SMEs account for over 80% of Uganda's private sector, which facea numerous challenges that cause between 70-80% of them to fail within two years of establishment.
 
He said some of the obstacles include the inability to harness and leverage information and communication. 
 
"Even bodaboda business in Kampala is online because we are moving in a digital era, where we must accept to be competitive whether the business is small or big," the minister said.
 
He said digital literacy is inevitable for sustainable business success. 
He added that the to address these among other challenges, the Government had embarked on a digital skilling campaign for SMEs.
 
Ogwang revealed that the broad band Internet coverage across the country had tremendously improved, with the current country coverage of 96% of 3G Internet, up from 27% in 2015.
 
T.S Mukasa, the director of business at FSME, said the trainees will receive International Computer Driving License certificates, which will enable them to access jobs anywhere.  
 
Fred Otunnu, the UCC director of corporate affairs, said they have furnished ICT laboratories in over 1,000 government schools throughout the country. 
 
Otunnu said UCC after giving computers to government-aided schools, they will provide the same to private schools.
 
Florence Atingo, a tailor in Amen A village, said she was excited after learning to operate a computer.
 
The headteacher Light SS, Samuel Ediau, asked UCC to stock computers in Teso schools because the region was still backward in terms of computer literacy.
 

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