Lukyamuzi awards a certificate to a trainee, while Walugembe looks on
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Value-addition is the key to penetrating the competitive coffee market regionally and globally, entrepreneurs have been advised.
The coffee value chain is facing challenges such as poor quality production, price fluctuations, and limited bargaining power, meaning that with limited value addition at the farm level, farmers continue to sell unprocessed coffee leading to lower earnings.
The call was made during the climax of the 4-day Agri SME Skills Development Program facilitated by PostBank Uganda in partnership with the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (FSME).
Martin Lukyamuzi, PostBank Uganda Regional Head of Distribution for Greater Kampala said value addition practices as a gateway to tap into the lucrative trade opportunities locally and across the region.
He made the remarks at the climax of the 4-day training program that kicked off on 16th December 2024, at Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) in Nakawa, Kampala.
Launched in 2022, the Agri SME Skills Development Program forms part of PostBank Uganda’s Corporate Social Investment (CSI) under its Financial Literacy pillar, aimed at empowering Ugandans so that they can participate in the social economic activities that will boost the country’s development.
Lukyamuzi said the sessions involve a 3-day technical training where the farmers or traders get hands-on learning, gaining knowledge on the entire process, proper post-harvest handling to maintain quality, and good manufacturing practices.
“This is fronted as the overall approach to value addition on their produce with the required quality so that they can explore regional trade opportunities,” he noted.
He said although they had initially targeted to train to over 300 beneficiaries countrywide, they surpassed the number and managed to train over 530 participants.
A cross section of the awarded entrepreneurs, PostBank and FSME officials
Participants are trained in how to manage their finances properly and guided on the different products offered by the bank to support them on their journey as they grow and prosper.
They were also taken through financial literacy sessions by PostBank Uganda representatives, to ground them on managing their businesses.
By upskilling entrepreneurs in the different economic sectors like agriculture, tourism, manufacturing among others, Post Bank is enabling them to boost their operations.
“This enables them to produce products and services that meet local and international market standards. It also helps them to improve their market base and tap into the enormous trade opportunities within the region,” said Priscilla Akora, PostBank’s Head of Marketing and Communications.
John Walugembe, the FSME Executive Director, hailed PostBank Uganda for fronting initiatives that are directed towards supporting businesses to realize their full potential.
“It’s through forums such as the Agri SME Skills Development Program that local entrepreneurs can gain skills that not only help them manage their finances, but guide them on how best to adopt value-addition to their products,” he said.
Competitiveness Determines market
He added that local entrepreneurs can only attain the business acumen required for them to thrive in a competitive and dynamic business environment within Uganda and other international trade markets if they engage in such trainings.
Walugembe said they conducted entrepreneurial trainings in several areas of the country, which included Soroti District where farmers were skilled in millet processing, and in Fort Portal where agro-tourism best practices were shared.
“We also went as far as Arua, where we trained local businessmen on modern cassava processing and value addition methods, and also trained Coffee processors and traders in Kampala.
During the Kampala training, which was held at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) training center in Nakawa, entrepreneurs were advised to adopt value addition practices as a gateway to tap into the lucrative trade opportunities locally and across the region.
PostBank Uganda, a fully-fledged commercial bank, boasts of a wide branch network of 58 branches countrywide, and over 3,000 banking agents.
FSME on the other hand is has a mission to equip MSMEs for success and growth, by ensuring that there is a conducive environment for business and access to quality business development services. FSME has over 734,000 members nationwide.
