As the country gears up for the full reopening of the economy, the Federation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (FSMEs) has urged the government to ensure that it reduces the cost of doing business in the country in 2022.
The remarks were made during the release of the 2021 SMEs performance report, which shows that 20% of the SMEs closed business due to the harsh economic environment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The executive director of FSMEs, John Walugembe told the Nile Post that following the outbreak of Covid-19, the cost of doing business in Uganda is worsening each day, noting that lack of affordable finances has remained a major obstacle for the SMEs to thrive.
"This has been a difficult year for the SMEs sector. People don’t have money. You can open your shop and wait for the clients for three days and then you have to pay the rent. This is a big issue," Walugembe said.
To overcome some of these challenges, Walugembe called upon the government to formulate the Startup Act to enable them benefit from the government incentives and special packages.
"We ask the government to expedite the passing of the act in order to ensure that our startups are supported to thrive. We want the government to put in place mechanisms to ensure that people find it easier to start and run businesses in this country because this is the only way they can create jobs," said Walugembe.
