KCB in alliance with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Federation of National Associations of Women in Business (COMFWB), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperative and Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited hosted its 3rd annual regional women in business trade fair that held at the Uganda museum grounds from 24-26th August.
The trade fair witnessed a business conference session on contemporary discussions on the theme “Business women incubators advancing regional trade”, and a business clinic with all government agencies including URA, UNBS, URSB, UEPB among others.
The event aimed to give African women and men a welcoming and active platform while they were in Uganda to trade, navigate possible opportunities, market, and build solid value chains with traders across the world.
The COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB), which has 21 member nations, was represented by each board member and featured varied items from each nation. Ms. Ruth Negash, the CEO of COMFWB, emphasized the significance of women building value chains and the significance of digitization in fostering trade on the African continent.
A wide range of opportunities for direct engagement with manufacturers, trend setters, customers, retailers, wholesalers, sales teams, and distributors were also made available by the expo. An awards dinner ceremony for businesswomen and men took place at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel to recognize the COMFWB Uganda branch.
KCB is greatly committed to empowering women economically through assisting their business proposals with different bank facilities and products.
According to the most recent findings, 64% of women-driven businesses reported that COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on their operations, compared to 52% of businesses run by males (Brookings,2020, ITC ,2020 & Intracen ,2020).
The majority of women in Uganda who were ranked have given up their businesses due to a lack of knowledge about trade and the market (83%), a lack of competitive advantage (80%), high operating costs (78%), poor business management skills (78%), a lack of understanding of import and export requirements (71%) in an environment with appropriate laws and regulations, as well as non-tariff and tariff barriers.
Despite the obstacles, many female company owners have helped run their own companies, and the bulk of them have worked tirelessly through business incubators.
Participating at a panel discussion themed ‘The role of government, civil society and financial institution in positioning Africa Continental Free Trade Area’ the Executive Director of KCB Bank, Agnes Mayanja elaborated the contribution of the institution in elevating women in business.
Saying: “We have special products that can be attained by women to push business across borders. We have both short and long-term loans and have taken on a digital journey which renders convenience to trade across borders seamlessly. In addition, one of our schemes is to prioritize our customers’ needs and we endeavor to create a significant impact through deliberately being simple, inspiring, and friendly. Most importantly, we have granted women access to markets both regional and international through our regional presence across the East African Region.”
