CAPTION: L-R: UIA team at Kazire Health Products Limited in Mbarara. The team was led by the Deputy Director for Investment Promotion and Business Development Peter Muramira (Left).
Mbarara, Uganda: In line with the government of Uganda’s agenda to boost industrialization, the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) provides serviced industrial and business parks to investors across the country. These Parks ease access of land to investors, create more jobs, introduce new research and technology, boost skills developments and increase Uganda’s exports base.
It is for this reason that the Chief Executive Officer of Kazire Health Products Dr. Edward Kazaire hailed the Authority for allocating the company 2.5 square miles in the Masindi Industrial Park to establish a nuclear farm for growing lemons and other crops.
“The challenge we had was that the destruction of our crops in the Nakasongola nucleus farm by the floods led to the low supply of agricultural products that we use to manufacture our of six products. This has been resolved with the allocation of land in Masindi,” he said. He was recently addressing officials from the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) who conducted a monitoring exercise of investors in the Western region.
Dr. Kazaire attributed the success of the company to the investment license he was able to acquire within three days from the Uganda Investment Authority.
“The licence has enabled us acquire loans to grow the company now standing at Sh6bn and the establishment of farmer’s clusters who grow crops that feed into the factory,” he explained.
“Kazire Health Products is a success story, we are establishing a bottling line in Tanzania that would enable us to expand supply of our products to Zambia, Central African Republic and targeting all member states of the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC).
The company is also establishing Kazire Agriculture Farm in Ntungamo district for banana value chain management where farmers will be trained and empowered with agricultural inputs.
“Overall 25,000 will directly and indirectly benefit from this project,”.
UIA Investment Executive, SME division Mr. Nasser Yawe explained that the Authority has the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SME), Innovation and Technology division. The division among others provides hands-on entrepreneurship training in value addition.
“The Authority can therefore support your firm and the farmer’s clusters with hands-on entrepreneurship training in value addition, cluster development and business linkages,” he added.
“It is going concern for the UIA to support the long-term survival and sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which play a critical role in the development of the economy,” he said adding that the division supports and facilitates the development of sustainable domestic investments and SMEs, who are majorly domestic entrepreneurs such as Kazire Health Products.
He also pointed out that the division has got a youth apprenticeship program and is also profiling all SME’s in the country.
Kazire produces Kazire Red tonic, Kazire Vit fruit drink, Kazire Aloe green tea drink, Kazire Lemon green tea, Kazire Orange tea juice and Kazire power tonic drink.
UIA developing portal for small and medium firms
Mbarara, Uganda: Small and Medium enterprises in Uganda continue to face low survival rates due to the tough business environment worsened by the outbreak of the COVID-19.
This is one of the reasons why the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SME), Innovation and Technology division of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is developing a National SME portal.
According to Mr. Nasser Yawe, the Investment Executive in the division, entrepreneurs will be able to access information and business development services provided by the Uganda Investment Authority.
He said the portal will also be linked to government departments, non-governmental organizations, development partners and the private sector among others.
“SME’s and the district commercial officers will play a critical role when the division embarks on the exercise of implementing the project,” he said at a meeting with the Mbarara district officials and investors in the Authority’s SME park in Mbarara.
Mr. Yawe was part of the UIA Business Development team that monitored progress on investments in Mbarara, Ishaka and Bushenyi districts in the Western region.
He explained that the entreprenuers will be required to provide information on their location, turnover, products and progress among others.
“In return, the portal will help us on traceability, how your business is progressing, help SMEs access credit through credit scores to qualify for funds,” he said adding that it will help SMEs to create business linkages and will make it easy for banks to release funds to SMEs.
Deputy Director for Investment Promotion and Business Development Peter Muramira pointed out that UIA has made it easier for both local and foreign investors to implement projects in Uganda.
“UIA established a One Stop Centre comprised of 16 government and private sector institutions under which an investor enters and leaves reassdy to go and start implementing the business project,”.
Bushenyi district LCV Chairman Jafari Basajjabalaba informed the delegation that they have secure Sh900 million for the development of tourist roads and construction of a tourist market along the Ishaka-Kabale road in Kyamuhunga subcounty.