Minister Ajedra to youth entrepreneurs: Money is everywhere

The minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Planning, in charge General Duties, Gabriel Ajedra on Tuesday said youth should stop lamenting all the time over lack of money to do business, saying money is everywhere.

Ajedra made the remarks while launching the United Nations Least Developed Countries Report 2018 in Kampala, which was centred on: “Entrepreneurship for Structural Transformation- Beyond Business as Usual”.

Ajedra called on the youth entrepreneurs to undertake risks, saying there is no shortcut to the success of any business.

“I took the risk of getting a loan from the bank on behalf of my daughter, who had just completed university and wanted to do business. As I speak now, my daughter is one of the successful entrepreneurs in Uganda”, he said.

He said for any business to succeed, one has to address three issues: acquisition of skills, apprenticeship through guidance from entrepreneurship professionals and to be ready to start the business.

He advised youth entrepreneurs to change their mindset through investing in new technologies, which arise from innovations.

“Don’t just copy what others are doing as this will create unnecessary competition. You should apply for innovation fund which is available”, he said.

Charles Ocici, the executive director; Enterprise Uganda, said every successful business starts from a humble beginning.

“Business is developed not offered. It starts from micro, medium to higher enterprises”, he said.

He cautioned the youth against being idle, saying: “The days of sitting behind the desk are over”.

Benjamin Mattondo Banda, UN Economic Affairs Officer for Least Developed Countries, laboured to make a presentation on the report.

He said Uganda is not doing badly in regard to availing employment opportunities to her citizens, in comparison with other developing countries.

He cited challenges affecting most Least Developing Countries’ ability to grow business to include: lack of internal management capabilities, funding constraints and lack of networking ability among others.