UCU joins fight against unemployment

Apr 18, 2015

IN a partnership with Uganda Manufacturers Association, the university has launched a department that will help graduates identify businesses ideas and create their own businesses

By Jane Akol and John Masaba

 

UGANDA Christian University, Mukono (UCU) has joined the fight against high unemployment in the country by creating an avenue through which fresh graduates can turn into remarkable entrepreneurs and avoid roaming the streets in search for elusive jobs in the Uganda job market.

 

In a partnership with Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), the university has launched a department that will help graduates identify businesses ideas and create their own businesses when they leave university.

 

UCU entrepreneur club will be overseen by the faculty business and Administration and will receive professional help from UMA.  It will also work with Uganda National Chamber of Commerce (UNCC).

 

The dean of faculty business studies, Martin Kabanda, said the initiative will equip graduates with expertise to help them survive in the rough waters of too few opportunities and too many job seekers in the country. 

 

According to statistics from the ministry of Gender around 400,000 youth are annually released into the job market to compete for only about 9,000 available jobs. 

 

Another survey released in 2013 by Action Aid International, Uganda National NGO Forum and Development Research and Training, youth employment 62%.

 

Kabanda said the department will start as a local entity helping students going through the university but can later expand to help students from other universities in future.

 

“We want our department to operate like in Go-Africa which is managed by UMA,” he said. 

 

Started by UMA, Go-Africa runs competitions that encourage startup businesses by young people. Candidates with unique business ideas are then rewarded with big prizes. Last year, the best candidates were rewarded with a trip to Turkey in addition to startup capital.

 

Kabanda said five winning students got sh94m, which helped them start businesses such as fashion boutiques, juice making among others.

 

UNCC director, Joseph Kagimu, said they were ready to train young entrepreneurs in advocacy for business development, networking events, and market promotion.

 

UNCC has over 80 years of experience as a nationwide umbrella organisation for the private sector and influences key decisions that affect business at local, national levels of government, regional and international levels. On the other hand UMA lobbies and provides research based policy advocacy to help industrialists.

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