Regional bank boosts SMEs with sh215m
Feb 10, 2008
THE East African Development Bank (EADB) has given Enterprise Uganda, a business development organisation, a grant of $125,767 (about sh215m) towards the mentoring of entrepreneurs.
By Ayiga Ondoga
and Ricks Kayizzi
THE East African Development Bank (EADB) has given Enterprise Uganda, a business development organisation, a grant of $125,767 (about sh215m) towards the mentoring of entrepreneurs.
Godfrey Tumusiime, the head of EADB, explained during the signing ceremony in Kampala over the weekend that the bank secured a grant of euro 900,000 from the Nordic Development Fund to build capacity and promote the development of small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
He said the funds would be used to train SMEs in financial and marketing management. Tumusiime said the rest of the costs will be borne by entrepreneurs and Enterprise Uganda.
“We receive several proposals and evaluate them,†Tumusiime said in response to the criteria used to select Enterprise Uganda to manage the grant in Uganda.
“At the end of the mentoring and training, beneficiary SMEs should become attractive to banks,†Tumusiime said.
He added: “SMEs should also be able to see increased business from their customers, suppliers, business partners and corprates.â€
Tumusiime stated that 95% of his bank’s financial support goes to the private sector, benefiting up 60% of SMEs.
Charles Ocici, the Enterprise Uganda chief, said the principal training courses would include financial management, where the participants will get skills in financial literacy, financial records and book keeping, costing and pricing and choosing viable investments.
“SMEs have held an illusion that the only remedy to their funding is going for a bank credit yet very few loan beneficiaries have dutifully serviced their facilities as agreed,†Ocici asserted.
He observed: “Without this business training for entrepreneurs, when they borrow money from banks, it will become a problem to pay back.
“And when you ask them what the challenges are, the only song is ‘no money or no capital.’
“There is only one boss in a business that is the customer,†Ocici observed.
He said their previous trainings had validated the philosophy that if banks took on the existing SMEs, their balance sheets would expand.
“That is attainable once access to finance is twinned with consumption of quality business development services by SMEs,†Ocici confirmed during the signing ceremony.
and Ricks Kayizzi
THE East African Development Bank (EADB) has given Enterprise Uganda, a business development organisation, a grant of $125,767 (about sh215m) towards the mentoring of entrepreneurs.
Godfrey Tumusiime, the head of EADB, explained during the signing ceremony in Kampala over the weekend that the bank secured a grant of euro 900,000 from the Nordic Development Fund to build capacity and promote the development of small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
He said the funds would be used to train SMEs in financial and marketing management. Tumusiime said the rest of the costs will be borne by entrepreneurs and Enterprise Uganda.
“We receive several proposals and evaluate them,†Tumusiime said in response to the criteria used to select Enterprise Uganda to manage the grant in Uganda.
“At the end of the mentoring and training, beneficiary SMEs should become attractive to banks,†Tumusiime said.
He added: “SMEs should also be able to see increased business from their customers, suppliers, business partners and corprates.â€
Tumusiime stated that 95% of his bank’s financial support goes to the private sector, benefiting up 60% of SMEs.
Charles Ocici, the Enterprise Uganda chief, said the principal training courses would include financial management, where the participants will get skills in financial literacy, financial records and book keeping, costing and pricing and choosing viable investments.
“SMEs have held an illusion that the only remedy to their funding is going for a bank credit yet very few loan beneficiaries have dutifully serviced their facilities as agreed,†Ocici asserted.
He observed: “Without this business training for entrepreneurs, when they borrow money from banks, it will become a problem to pay back.
“And when you ask them what the challenges are, the only song is ‘no money or no capital.’
“There is only one boss in a business that is the customer,†Ocici observed.
He said their previous trainings had validated the philosophy that if banks took on the existing SMEs, their balance sheets would expand.
“That is attainable once access to finance is twinned with consumption of quality business development services by SMEs,†Ocici confirmed during the signing ceremony.