Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is stepping up efforts to ensure that Ugandan products are competitive both locally and internationally, according to Eng. James Kwesiga, Executive Director of UNBS.
Speaking during Spotlight Uganda on Monday, hosted by NBS Television under the theme, “How UNBS and URA are Transforming Trade in Uganda,” Kwesiga highlighted the bureau’s ongoing initiatives to strengthen standards, quality, and trade across the country.
“Standards and trade are like two sides of the same coin. The world is now global, and Uganda is competing on that global stage. At UNBS, we make sure to enable and empower our local enterprises to compete effectively beyond our borders,” Kwesiga said.
Kwesiga acknowledged that UNBS has faced challenges in staffing all potential border points but noted that revenue collection has improved and staffing levels are steadily increasing.
“Together with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), we are also planning joint market surveillance to enhance compliance and protect consumers,” he said.
UNBS’s core mandate involves developing, promoting, and enforcing standards that safeguard public health and safety, ensure fair trade, and protect consumers. Beyond this regulatory role, the bureau is committed to strengthening the competitiveness of locally produced goods at domestic, regional, and global levels through a robust National Quality Culture anchored on Standardisation, Quality Assurance, Metrology, and Testing (SQMT).
“Any product that seeks to access markets—whether local, regional, continental, or global—must meet the required standards. That is why UNBS has shifted from an enforcement-based approach to one of handholding and supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to comply with standards and grow sustainably,” Kwesiga said.
This proactive approach has already shown significant results. In the past five years, the number of certified MSMEs has surged by over 225%, growing from 547 MSMEs certified in the 2020/21 financial year to 1,772 MSMEs certified in 2024/25.
Addressing concerns about high certification fees, particularly among youth-led startups, UNBS is exploring collaboration with the Ministry of Finance to establish a Certification Fund.
The fund aims to support innovators who cannot afford certification costs, thereby turning skills and innovations into marketable products.
Kwesiga noted that this initiative will expand the enterprise base, boost employment, widen the tax base, increase exports, promote import substitution, and accelerate Uganda’s industrialisation agenda.
In addition to addressing Non-Technical Barriers to Trade (NTBs), UNBS is tackling Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) by harmonising standards at regional and continental levels, supporting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) vision of “one standard, one certificate, one market.”
“Standards are the passport for export. No nation has transitioned from developing to developed without embracing standards and quality. If Uganda is serious about export promotion, industrialisation, and economic transformation, then standards must remain at the center. At UNBS, we are in the business of growing quality enterprises, and we remain committed to supporting every Ugandan entrepreneur on their journey to standardisation,” he said.