Stanbic Bank partners with UTB to offer financial literacy to SMEs

The Stanbic Business Incubator has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to provide financial literacy support to start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in the tourism sector to ensure development and sustainability of their businesses.

This partnership brings a unique platform for both entities to jointly develop and implement a series of financial literacy programmes on enterprise development and national content to produce competent, financially solid and skilled entrepreneurs in the tourism sector.

According to the MoU, the Stanbic Business Incubator will provide resources such as expert advisors, mentors, administrative support, office equipment and training for Start-ups and SMEs in the tourism sector and contribute to the development and sustainability of their businesses.

Speaking at the MoU signing, the Stanbic Business Incubator executive director Tony Okao Otoa said the incubator will mobilize the funds to facilitate incubation activities, for start-ups and SMEs on the tourism business incubation programmes.

“The Stanbic Business Incubator will provide an enabling environment for the development of ICT-based solutions for record keeping, business management and performance testing on tourism businesses for wider use and application by SMEs and actors in Tourism,” Otoa said.

The UTB chief executive officer, Lilly Ajarova, emphasised that the goal is to continuously develop and grow the tourism industry of Uganda.

“Part of this effort is dependent on our private sector, making it imperative that we at UTB create awareness for the available tools that can help in achieving our mutual objectives. We greatly look forward to the amazing things to come out of this partnership,” Ajarova said.

She explained that through the UTB and Stanbic Business Incubator partnership, collaborations will be formed that will go a long way in contributing to the development and sustainability of the businesses in the Tourism sector through enterprise development, training and information dissemination. T

his, she added, will further nurture and cement all mutual present and future relationships and benefits.

She observed that the MOU is set to create a strong platform for cooperation and cross-cutting partnerships between entities in different sectors. This, she explained, is bound to help light the spark that will re-ignite the nation, especially in the post COVD-19 era.