Badagawa advises local businesses to emulate foreign counterparts

By Billy Rwothungeyo                                            

Gideon Badagawa, the executive director of the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU) has advised businesses in Uganda to emulate the standards adhered to by foreign counterparts if they want share the same level of success.

“In developed markets, they do not entertain substandard goods. Even the China we talk about so much, when they are exporting to Europe, they only send first class goods,” he said shortly after the launch of the European Business Forum on Monday at the Sheraton Hotel Kampala.

The executive director said because many businesses in Uganda are not so keen on issues like standards, there are few partnerships between Ugandan firms and global players.

 “We need to understand that when we are going to export our chilies, dry fruits and fish to Europe, the standards are supreme,” he said

“If you want to make substandard goods and eat into someone’s market share, then certainly your business will fail in the long run. Business is built on ethical conduct.”

The forum was formed to provide a platform for European businesses and services in Uganda to gain knowledge of the business environment and to increase business between Uganda and the EU.

Speaking earlier on at the launch of the forum, Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde urged European companies to come into the country to set up agricultural processing plants to form a linkage with farmers in the country.

“We should not only think about trade. Let us think about industrialization and value addition. We are one of the agricultural based economies in Africa, but how many agricultural processing plants do we have?” she said.

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