For a population in excess of 33,000,000 people, Uganda has only 460,000 registered businesses, Bank of Uganda has revealed.
BOU deputy governor Dr.Louis Kasekende says that a Census of Business establishment that was recently conducted found this out. He however noted that the majority are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Kasekende made these remarks in a speech read for him at the seventh edition of Financial Reporting Awards in Kampala held last week.
He said that most of these enterprises never expand to become firms because they employ few people and have little capital. Of the majority of businesses, the number of employees is only 2-3.
Kasekende advises that SMEs mobilize capital to expand.
“Finance must be mobilised from outside sources that is outside the firm’s immediate ownership. From their business perspective, the ideal form of finance for expansion is equity capital, because this is long-term finance and its returns are linked to the performance of the firm,” he said.
Uganda is often listed as one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. However not many of its businesses have become regional powerhouses, as opposed to those in Kenya.
