ConsumerCentriX and Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited to Launch Compassionate Leadership Series on 4th November 2021
In partnership with ConsumerCentriX, Stanbic Bank is pleased to have the opportunity to introduce the Compassionate Leadership Public Engagement Series.
The Series will consist of three webinars featuring compassionate leaders and technical persons in our community, that will help us understand how they have effectively led their organizations and provide practical tools in overcoming the challenges brought by the pandemic.
The inaugural conversation, Leading with Heart – “adapting to a new normal in a tough business environment”, will be launched on 4th November 2021 at 2 pm and will be moderated by Maurice Mugisha, with Anne Juuko, Stanbic Bank CE, Wim Vanhelleputte, Chief Executive MTN (U) LTD, and Thadeus Musoke Nagenda, Ag. Chairman KACITA, as panellists.
Don’t miss the opportunity to participate!
To register for the webinar, visit: Webinar Registration
Strategies that can help save your business and plan for the unexpected
A version of this article was originally posted on the Covid-19 Business Info Hub
Due to the pandemic, many businesses have experienced new and significant operational challenges such as inadequate cash flow, decreased demand, and supply chain disruptions resulting from lockdown restrictions. According to the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), 50% of businesses in Uganda had to close operations at least temporarily for an average of over three months. These challenges were unprecedented and have made it clear how disruptive a crisis can be. Most companies were unprepared and as a result, some have closed operations permanently. Others have struggled to get back on their feet.
Here is where a business continuity plan can be a critical tool enabling businesses not only to survive but potentially to thrive even during a crisis. A business continuity plan is a document that outlines how a business will continue operating during an unplanned disruption. It guides businesses on how to reassign resources and communicate effectively internally and externally, all key components to maintain operations even during challenging times.
Because developing a business continuity plan may be a new concept for small business owners, in September, the COVID-19 Business Information Hub focused on guiding entrepreneurs in their development. We had insightful discussions with stakeholders and businesses who implemented a variety of business continuity strategies during the pandemic, and here is what we learnt:
Conducting a risk assessment: The first thing that every business owner should do is assess the risk and vulnerability of their business. This can be easily done using a tool that the International Labor Organization (ILO) provides free of charge. The ILO also outlines a six-step process to develop the business continuity plan with a key focus on four main elements (People, Process, Profits, and Partnerships). We spoke with John Kakungulu Walugembe of Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises-Uganda (FSME), who explained in detail what the 4Ps stand for and how businesses can use the six-step plan to their advantage. (click here to access the special interview with John Walugumbe).
Determining critical activities: Business owners need to define critical activities needed to continue to operate during a crisis. Businesses should immediately identify actions to take based on the risk exposure. Lilian Katiso of Mau and More, a company that sells potted plants, recognized that watering plants was critical to mitigate the risk of losing her inventory due to withering. The business decided to purchase a motorcycle to facilitate one staff to do the watering during the lockdown.
Establishing an internal communication plan: A communication plan outlines how teams and employees may best communicate with each other to support the company’s objectives. It helps increase communication frequency and promotes the dissemination of information about what is happening within the company and the employees. Toddler’s Gold implemented a communications plan including regular meetings to discuss business targets and understand staff welfare. As a result, their sales grew during the lockdown.
Embracing technology and digital platforms: Technology helps to support business operations during challenging times. When regular work arrangements were disrupted, and we saw a shift to remote work, Rajab Mukasa, Director at Pique Nique Ltd, adopted mobile money and the use of agents to complete his banking activities. It allowed the company to order by phone and pay suppliers remotely instead of using cash.
The disruptions caused by COVID-19 have set a new preparedness benchmark and demonstrated that small businesses need to continuously adapt and evolve their strategies to better prepare for future risks. Joseph Walusimbi a national coach and trainer with the International Trade Center (ITC), an agency of the United Nations, encourages entrepreneurs to embrace business continuity plans to prepare for uncertainty. He also highlighted the potential need for external financing to implement specific activities. Businesses should seek financing options focusing on recovery, innovation, adaptation and sustainability, such as the Economic Enterprise Restart Fund available at Stanbic Bank Uganda or credit guarantee schemes that shift risk from the private to the public sector.
The SME Response Clinic Partners with KCB Bank
The SME Response Clinic Partners with KCB Bank
A version of this article was originally posted on the SME Response Clinic
The SME Response Clinic has partnered with KCB Bank Rwanda as part of our ongoing efforts to bring entrepreneurs even closer to financial institutions that offer access to finance and non-financial services to meet business needs through COVID-19 and beyond.
Through this partnership, entrepreneurs will have access to timely information on KCB Bank’s financial products as well as non-financial services such as KCB Bank’s Biashara Club, which features preferential offerings, trainings, business workshops, and networking opportunities. Through the partnership, SME Response Clinic visitors will also have a direct line to the institution at +250788140000.
We are excited about the opportunities this partnership can create for your businesses, and we look forward to providing you with regular updates on KCB Bank Rwanda’s products and services!
ConsumerCentriX best-in-class training to support financial institutions serving the SME segment goes virtual
ConsumerCentriX best-in-class training to support financial institutions serving the SME segment goes virtual
ConsumerCentriX has a long history of working to support financial institutions serving small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs).
SMEs face a tremendous financing gap, and many do not have access to the kinds of business development services that make them stronger potential borrowers with the skills to grow their businesses as usual or to manage disruptions like COVID-19. SMEs face unique challenges and have specific needs.
On the other hand, financial institutions have a hard time grappling with understanding the full financial picture of many businesses in this segment, and as a result, find it challenging to lend to SME entrepreneurs, whose recordkeeping varies and who may bank with multiple banks (or none at all).
The financial institutions that serve SMEs – both those who want to serve them for the first time and those who want to serve them better – need to consider implementing an approach that enables them to better understand their SME customers: a relationship management approach. This approach entails establishing and maintaining long-term relationship with customers centered around providing solutions that meet customer needs rather than just promoting one product or service. In turn, this ensures a greater share of wallet for the bank.
Effective relationship management in SME banking requires strong Relationship Managers with skills in connecting with customers and understanding how to analyze businesses in this unique segment as well as in monitoring post-disbursement to address potential issues before they arise or to identify additional needs customers may have. Earlier this year, ConsumerCentriX developed and launched a four-part virtual training program to support Relationship Managers in honing their skills to better serve the SME segment. The best-in-class curriculum centers around four key areas essential to serving SMEs:
Relationship Management
Provides trainees with foundational skills needed to build a relationship with customers and real-life examples to complement learnings
Gender Awareness
Identifies and addresses potential biases trainees may have in approaching or assessing women entrepreneurs
Business and Credit Analysis
Focuses on techniques to collect, cross-check, and analyze business information to conduct an efficient credit analysis using quantitative and qualitative information
Decision Formalization and Portfolio Management
Hones trainees’ technical skills in preparing credit proposals, including identifying potential risks and mitigation strategies that are monitored from loan origination throughout the repayment period.
ConsumerCentriX transformed these topics, normally covered in 8 days of in-person classroom training, into 4 online modules with 26 mini-sessions of between 20 and 45 minutes. The mini-sessions include animations, exercises, and videos that aim to bring life to self-paced virtual learning.
We recently piloted the training with Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited (SBU), one of the largest commercial banks in Uganda with a strong footprint among SMEs that aims to expand its reach and deepen its engagement in the sector.
What have we learned?
While the pilot is still underway, ConsumerCentriX is already seeing results and has been able to leverage preliminary learnings to make small tweaks to enhance the effectiveness of the virtual training.
Importantly, trainees are successfully learning the theoretical knowledge presented in the self-paced virtual sessions. While online learning has become frequent due to COVID-19, the sessions developed for this training are short and as interactive as possible to avoid some of the fatigue that has become common with participating in online events.
Pearl Akol, an Enterprise Direct Business Banker at SBU, shared that as a result of completing the relationship management component of the online training, she has “understood that you have to listen to the customer carefully and match a solution to the customer’s need” rather than to focus on selling a particular product. It transforms the way she approaches conversations with new and existing customers and is sure to have an impact on the bank’s bottom line. For Alex Insingoma, an Enterprise Direct Business Banker, the gender awareness module was eye-opening. “After going through this training, I was able to recognize the importance of women in business given their big numbers and their unique way of running businesses,” he said.
While theoretical knowledge can be effectively transmitted through self-paced virtual sessions, live online discussions and practice sessions best ensure information is internalized by trainees. Typically, ConsumerCentriX follows up our in-person SME training programs with hands-on coaching and mentoring done with trainees at their branches and in the field. This kind of approach can be difficult to replicate online, but other techniques can be used instead. We incorporated live virtual coaching sessions moderated by our expert SME team to smaller groups of 5-7 people for 1.5 hours at a time. They focus on addressing main challenges faced by participants on any of the content, provide a dedicated time for trainees to practice specific tools or skills acquired, and offer participants the opportunity to discuss real case studies from actual entrepreneurs.
Lastly, proper planning and oversight by the financial institution are critical to success. ConsumerCentriX usually conducts multiple planning meetings in advance of in-person training to outline the objectives, ensure staff availability, and to identify how outcomes will be tracked in close collaboration with the partner financial institution. These steps cannot be skipped for virtual learning.
- First, an institution needs to identify its goals – particularly the behavior changes and outcomes that it aims to see as a result of the training.
- Then, time needs to be set aside for staff to complete the training – this can be a number of hours per day or week within a certain period of time. This needs to be communicated to staff, and follow-ups should be conducted by managers to ensure staff are completing modules within designated deadlines.
- Finally, the institution needs to identify the key performance indicators it will track to understand outcomes – if a financial institution wants to see additional business generated as a result of the training, key performance indicators around new leads or a greater share of wallet should be clearly communicated at the start of training, monitored during training, and tracked over time once training is completed.
ConsumerCentriX looks forward to completing the pilot training with SBU over the next few months and partnering with other financial institutions across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond to continue to serve SMEs despite challenging times. If you are interested in learning more or partnering with us, contact info@consumercentrix.ch.
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Developing a Business Continuity Plan for Your Enterprise
ConsumerCentriX works closely with Stanbic Bank Uganda on both the COVID-19 Business Info Hub and the Stanbic Business Incubator. This article originally appeared on the COVID-19 Business Info Hub.
The COVID-19 Business Info Hub spoke with John Kakungulu Walugembe of the Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises-Uganda (FSME) to understand the importance of developing a business continuity plan for enterprises and how this helps to build resilience during challenging times. A business continuity plan can be defined as a document that outlines how a business will continue operating during an unplanned disruption in service. It contains contingencies for business processes, assets, human resources, and business partners – every aspect of the business that might be affected.
John K. Walugembe is the Executive Director of FSME, the umbrella/business association that brings together over 112,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across 20 sectors in the country. Here’s what John had to say about the importance of business continuity plans in light of circumstances brought about by disruptions like the pandemic:
“Many businesses don’t have business continuity plans and do not know why they need to develop them.”
The impact of the pandemic on the MSME sector is unprecedented. Many businesses are closed, others have limited demand, and many are struggling to pay their staff. Businesses face challenges they have never encountered before and disruptions at overwhelming levels. So, “when we are talking about business recovery and resilience, we are trying to ensure that businesses get back to their pre-pandemic level” of operations. Business continuity plans can help businesses in doing just that. However, many entrepreneurs do not know what they are or how to go about putting them together.
FSME worked with International Labor Organization (ILO) to assist 200 MSMEs to come up with a business continuity plan according to a six-step process developed by the ILO.
FSME used the ILO’s six-step process for putting together a business continuity plan, which starts with an assessment of risk.
To assess the level of risk and vulnerability faced by a company, business owners need to focus on the 4Ps below and can assess their level of risk using the link included above.
People
How are your workers and their families affected by COVID-19?
Processes
How are the everyday operations of your business affected?
Profits
To what extent is your income and revenue affected?
Partnerships
How is the environment around your business affected by COVID?
Next, businesses must follow six steps as outlined below.
Step 1: Identify your key products or services.
Step 2: Establish the objective of your plan.
Step 3: Evaluate the potential impact of disruptions on your enterprise and workers.
Step 4: List actions to protect/minimize risks to your business
Step 5: Establish contact lists for non-physical activities (WhatsApp calls, Zoom meetings etc.).
Step 6: Maintain, review, and continuously update your plan.
“SMEs should also network and reach out for help.”
Although business continuity plans help answer questions about how your business can continue operations in moments of crisis, companies need to be agile and adapt plans to changing circumstances. One way to do this is by reaching out for support from organizations like FSME and to other business development service providers. Businesses can also reach out to their networks for ideas and support.
FSME is keen to support SMEs when and where possible, so please reach out to the organization via Tel at 0774147864 or via email at info@fsmeuganda.org or at john.walugembe@fsmeuganda.org
Stanbic Business Incubator Chief Executive Gives an Overview of the Opportunities for SMEs in the Oil and Gas Value Chain in Uganda
Stanbic Business Incubator Chief Executive gives an overview of the opportunities for SMEs in the Oil and Gas Value Chain in Uganda
Ernest Wasake: Good morning, Comrade Tony Otoa; I hope this finds you well. How have you been holding up during this period of the pandemic?
Tony Otoa: Thank you very much for hosting me. I have been great.
I have had a great time of learning, growing and understanding how to do things differently—and now we are getting used to doing different things to make things happen.
Ernest Wasake: Could you give us an overview of the Oil and Gas Value Chain in Uganda?
Tony Otoa: The Oil and Gas Value Chain is a very vast and intense one. It is a great value chain with many opportunities, especially in the local context.
The chain has upstream, midstream and downstream project segments. The upstream project is about the drilling, construction and civil works. In the midstream project, you have the oil pipeline of 1400-kilometre from Hoima in Uganda to the Tanga Port in Tanzania. The downstream, which is already evident in the country, is available for many local entities to deliver the final oil products to the consumers. There is less local participation in the upstream and the midstream projects because they are technical and capital intensive.
The Oil and Gas Value Chain in Uganda is an exciting opportunity for many local people. Opportunities include a wide range of jobs created plus the provision of services and goods in the downstream operations. With close to 15,000 workers to be employed directly, there will be a big need for food, accommodation, and health services, among others. When we talk about food, agriculture becomes a critical focus area, presenting many opportunities to benefit from.
Ernest Wasake: Great, please tell us about the Stanbic Business Incubator Limited’s role in the Oil and Gas Value Chain?
Tony Otoa: The Incubator’s role is very interesting and has been evident for quite some time.
We do not see ourselves as a stand-alone financial entity but as an entity supporting Oil and Gas Value Chain players. The Stanbic Business Incubator has concentrated on training and making Ugandan businesses astute over the last three years. When I speak about astute, I mean ensuring the visibility of demand, letting them know what opportunities are coming their way, and training them to become efficient, sustainable, and thrive.
There is no doubt that Ugandan businesses will seize the Oil and Gas sector opportunities with the Incubator’s support. For example, some companies that have come out of the incubator program are now huge players in the Oil and Gas space. One of the companies is Inspecta Africa, a company providing services to the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) and has gone on to forge international partnerships with businesses across the region.
We also want to create stories that speak to employability for young people and steer financial rotation in the sector. We hope that as we support local businesses to become better, we can see many companies improving and actively participating in the industry. In the early times, not many Ugandan companies actively participated during the exploration and the appraisal phase. Many of them were sub, sub, sub, subcontractors. We want our companies to be contractors or subcontractors who are making real revenue and not breadcrumbs.
Ernest Wasake: Thank you for the excellent overview. What opportunities exist for SMEs in the Value Chain?
Tony Otoa: Enormous opportunities exist for SMEs in the Value Chain.
As you all know, the Government of Uganda has been very deliberate in ring-fencing some areas for local businesses. So Ugandan SMEs have priority when it comes to these opportunities. Some of these include civil work construction, transport logistics, catering, hospitality, security, manpower, etc. SMEs simply need to understand and prepare to apply for the opportunities.
As a business, you might have been in operation for a long time, but for as long as you have not gone the extra mile to make yourself known and active in the Oil and Gas space, it will be hard to participate. First, the Oil and Gas sector is capital intensive. Businesses need time to develop and become attractive to financing. That financing is now readily available.
Second, seek to understand the sector more by engaging with the different sector actors. We now see a trend of the Oil and Gas sector now coming back into the arena. Businesses need to seek partners to make this a reality through joint venture partnerships with local and international companies. If SMEs can do that, then we are doing well as a country because the sector proves that growth is possible.
Ernest Wasake: What policies exist to encourage SME participation in the Value Chain?
Tony Otoa: Uganda has done well in terms of policy and regulations for the Oil and Gas sector.
When we compare with countries like Nigeria, which has been producing oil for over 60 years, their local content regulations and laws came into play around 2010/2011. For Uganda, even before the Oil and Gas activities were fully operational, we created those laws, regulations and policies, which is a good step. We have policies that support the participation of local businesses in the Oil and Gas space under the local content policy. Some sector activities are ring-fenced for Ugandan companies, which is a great starting point.
These laws and policies are great, but if we do not have Ugandan SMEs who can manage to participate in that space, the law also allows foreign entities to take over the space. So it is upon us to take advantage of the policies and maximize the available opportunities.
Ernest Wasake: What would it take to increase SMEs’ level of participation in the Oil and Gas Value Chain?
Tony Otoa: We can do a lot to increase SMEs’ participation in the Value Chain.
I will share a story to answer the question. In 2018, I knew a company while I was at Total E&P as National Content Manager. This company wanted to do what the big players like Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes were doing. The company kept on bidding for those opportunities, but unfortunately, they kept falling off the grid. Why? They did not have what it took to participate in the sector. They had no policies in place. When we brought them on board at the Incubator, we trained them on a three-month program and coached them for close to nine months. During the same time, we supported them to get ISO certification and other certifications. As I speak today, the same company supports CNOOC in various operations and project work for an international logistics company. That shows you that it is possible in a short period for a small company to become a great participant in the Oil and Gas Value Chain, employ many people and create value in the country. This story speaks to the many businesses that still have the dream and hope of participating in the Oil and Gas sector.
Lastly now that the Final Investment Decision (FID) is soon, it is a signal to an excellent start for Ugandans participating in the Oil and Gas sector. But like the gun at a race, if you are not ready when the sound goes off, you are not prepared, and whoever is prepared will take on this whole race. Therefor SMEs need preparation to benefit from this value chain. As the Stanbic Business Incubator together with our partners we support SME preparation through training, information sharing and creating visibility over demand. We are positive that with these interventions we shall have more SMEs participating in the Oil and Gas value chain.
Learn How Stanbic Bank Uganda's One Farm Platform Promotes Business Linkages Within the Agribusiness Sector
A version of this article was originally posted on the Covid-19 Business Info Hub.
The COVID-19 Business Info Hub spoke to Christian Karamagi, Innovation Lead at Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited (SBUL), to understand how the One Farm Platform is creating business linkages within the agribusiness sector in Uganda. Read along to find out more.
What is the One Farm Platform?
The One Farm Platform, which is channel partner-led, is essentially a data-driven digital solution that creates business linkages within the agribusiness ecosystem, especially between smallholder and enterprise service providers like banks, insurance companies, exporters, and manufacturers. The platform has two main components. The first is supply certainty, the assurance that there is the right quality and quantity at the right time. The second is supply optimization, which is about empowering smallholders to produce at maximum capacity. The components are critical for SMEs to forecast the crop to buy from farmers, which helps builds trust between the farmers and SMEs.
Information is critical to creating meaningful linkages. The platform captures data on; location, acreage, and inputs to prepare data profiles of the farmers. This data is aggregated to estimate total production in each area and shared with off-takers or SMEs and other service providers. The profiling helps formalize the sector by providing farmers with a digital identity, giving them access to finance, insurance, agronomy and market linkage. It also helps the users grow their farming business, giving them credit and financial history, creating trust, increasing productivity, improving access to markets, and managing counterparty risk. SMEs use this information to make business decisions on where to source, when to supply the clients and the financing source. Other service providers, such as input suppliers, can project and plan for demand from the farmers.
The platform delivers its benefits to the users through the categories below:
- Lend: is credit, including farmer production loans and value chain financing.
- Protect: this is savings and insurance currently weather-based index.
- Trade: this is the linkage within the marketplace, allowing SMEs to tap into the out-grower database. It includes a digital marketplace.
- Grow: this focuses on offering agronomic services to farmers to enable them to grow their crops well.
- Share: this refers to reaching out to communities with available food to feed the hungry.
How does the bank facilitate the participation of different actors on the platform?
The platform is channel partner enabled. The bank has various approaches to engaging different actors on the platform, as elaborated below.
We are adopting multiple repayment options for the SMEs and farmers who have received lending using our hybrid models. It allows them to pay conveniently and access additional financing for their operations.
Delivery of timely financial services to suit the agricultural seasons when farmers need the finance through One Farm Lend. We know that farmers may miss out on the planting season in case of delays in the availability of financing to buy inputs. We manage the lending process to ensure that farmers apply for financing well in time to avoid any delays.
Establishing partnerships with NGOs/Donors, fintech & Agritechs, input suppliers, equipment leasing companies, and insurance providers has helped us increase the use of the platform. Working with the various partners brings onboard a broad range of services, experience and expertise that platform users can tap into.
We have embedded financial literacy and agricultural extension services for farmers and SMEs through One Farm Grow. These are influencing behavioural change, adopting new technologies, and best practices for sustainable solutions.
What is the future of the platform?
Our vision is to have the One Farm platform as the leading ecosystem driver in Uganda’s agriculture sector. Scaling up for the platform is also underway, which means capacity and capability initiatives. The first plan is to increase the number of data profiles to 20,000 profiles by June 2021. Second, we plan to incorporate more value chains from maize to coffee, beans, barley and oilseeds. We continue to engage different stakeholders and partners, especially SMEs, as buyers, SACCOs and fintech & Agri-techs, facilitating the development of value chains. Finally, we plan to empower young people to integrate such digital solutions into farm practices because we understand that the future of digitization in agriculture lies with the youth.
What we learned this month about how to promote recovery in Uganda’s agribusiness sector
ConsumerCentriX works closely with Stanbic Bank Uganda on both the COVID-19 Business Info Hub and the Stanbic Business Incubator. This article originally appeared on the COVID-19 Business Info Hub.
In July, the COVID-19 Business Info Hub focused its efforts on understanding recovery mechanisms and opportunities for the agribusiness sector. We engaged with many stakeholders, including SMEs, financing institutions, and organizations offering support to the industry. Here is what we learnt!
The agribusiness sector has faced a number of challenges.
Just as SMEs were recovering from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the second wave hit the country in May 2021. This led to another lockdown during June and July, which has brought more difficulties for SMEs operating in this environment. Some of the challenges faced by the businesses include:
- Supply chain disruptions especially delayed transportation both by road and air cargo for agricultural inputs and products because of movement restrictions.
- Working capital constraints because of reduced sales and delayed payments, which affect operational efficiency.
- Reduced demand and price for agricultural products because buyers cannot easily access markets due to the lockdown.
- Increased cost in retaining essential human resources as businesses work to keep staff on the payroll despite reduced operations to avoid losing critical talent to competition.
As a result of these challenges, SMEs have used up their cash reserves and thus need financial and non-financial support to recover.
Several organizations are providing support to help agribusinesses recover.
Different sector players that we spoke to shared interventions they have in place to support businesses to stay afloat during the pandemic. Some are included here below:
aXiom Zorn creates digital profiles for farmers and agribusinesses to enable them to access financial services. The digital profiles capture data that builds a credit score for the farmer or the business. A credit score of 60% allows the farmer or agribusiness to access financing from a bank.
Stanbic Bank Uganda provides affordable loans to Savings Credit and Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) and farmer groups. SACCOs and farmer groups receiving these funds can then offer affordable loans to their members. Learn more about other interventions of the bank to reduce the financing gap in the financial sector.
Agricultural Business Initiative (aBi) promotes access to agricultural inputs by availing subsidized inputs to farmers to plant within the season. aBi Finance has also tweaked its credit guarantee product for partner financial institutions to help them to lend to customers with better terms.
Palladium is implementing a program to link farmers to service providers and markets via commercial agents. Through the model, over 80 businesses have benefitted to date with increased income.
Agribusinesses can implement a three-step plan to speed up the road to recovery.
SMEs need to seek information to understand the shifts in the consumption, production and trade within the sector to plan for recovery and build resilience. Here is a three-step recovery pathway that SMEs can adopt;
- Reflect: Pause and think about the impact COVID-19 has had on the business. Analyze what has worked during the period, lessons learnt and what needs to change. Then, adopt a holistic work approach to consolidate the best practices and manage change while maintaining a safe work environment.
- Restart: Identify steps required to “restart” – maybe a new business process, a new product, or service line to fit in the new normal. Mobilize the necessary resources and take action.
- Revitalize: Revisit the business environment to seize available opportunities along the value chain. SMEs need to optimize opportunities within the supply chain. They can improve volume flexibility, enhance delivery performance and identify areas where technology can help streamline processes to minimize costs.
For faster sector recovery, stakeholders also need to actively engage with the businesses to help them innovate and expand into new markets more than ever before.
SMEs can access information on:
Agribusiness financing from Stanbic Bank Uganda
Call: 0800250250
WhatsApp: 0770588623
Visit: www.stanbic.co.ug
Innovative digital solutions from aXiom Zorn
Tel: +256 200 951 713/+256 200 903 099
Email: info@axiomzorn.com
Visit: https://axiomzorn.com/
Commercial Agent Model from Palladium
Tel: +256 774 040751
Email: jackline.kitongo@thepalladiumgroup.com
Building resilience for your small business through challenging times
A version of this article was originally posted on the SME Response Clinic
As Rwanda faces an uptick in COVID-19 infections and the government mandates new measures aimed at preventing a third wave, the SME Response Clinic wants to take a moment to recognize the challenges you face as a small business owner. Entrepreneurs like you have come so far in navigating the unchartered waters of a truly unprecedented health and economic crisis, but new developments indicate that there is further yet to go.
Micro-, small- and medium-enterprises (MSMEs) make up 97% of businesses in the country, contributing to 55% of total GDP and employing over 40% of Rwanda’s population (Microsave Report, 2017). The start and stop of operations for many if not most businesses over the past year and a half has had a tremendous impact on the economy but also importantly on the financial health of individual entrepreneurs like you and, importantly, your families. In addition to and often caused by the significant negative economic impact resulting from the pandemic, we are all struggling with challenges that affect our wellbeing. Increased levels of stress and anxiety make our day-to-day even tougher. Studies of entrepreneurs in Rwanda (as well as globally) undertaken in recent months indicate that business owners are facing high levels of anxiety caused by uncertainty about the future.
This uncertainty is not surprising as you work to navigate new and rapidly evolving regulations, make changes to your business operations to work to stay afloat, and manage relationships with your suppliers and customers remotely rather than face-to-face. You do all of this while working to ensure your families are healthy and safe.
Since our launch in May 2020, the SME Response Clinic has sought to provide you with updates and tips relevant to managing your business through the various challenges that have arisen and continue to arise as a result of the pandemic. Now, we want to offer you the opportunity to also focus on yourself so that you can in turn better manage your business, positively impacting your family, your employees, and your community at large.
Over the next few months, we will be providing simple tools to support you in building business resilience. These will include short videos, articles, and audio recordings that you can use to manage stress and maintain a positive outlook in the months ahead.
Stay in touch with us at smeresponseclinic@gmail.com and remember to stay safe!
Stanbic Bank Uganda is helping to reduce the financing gap in the agribusiness sector.
ConsumerCentriX works closely with Stanbic Bank Uganda on both the COVID-19 Business Info Hub and the Stanbic Business Incubator. This article originally appeared on the COVID-19 Business Info Hub.
Melisa Nyakwera, Head Agribusiness at Stanbic Bank Uganda, spoke with the COVID-19 Business Info Hub on the banks’ initiatives to reduce the financing gaps for smallholder farmers and agribusinesses.
Stanbic Bank Uganda’s initiatives to reduce the financing gap in the agribusiness sector
Stanbic Bank Uganda has the following initiatives to facilitate access to finance for the sector:
- The bank uses the One Farm platform to profile farmers and agribusinesses. We understand their needs and provide solutions such as input financing, agronomy training, insurance, and information on markets.
- Stanbic Bank Uganda is increasing access to affordable finance to the farmers through their SACCOs and farmer groups by lending to the SACCOs and farmer groups at a subsidized interest rate.
- The bank provides several financial products to the sector, including short-term and long-term loans, invoice discounting, stock financing, and asset financing.
- Using the Flexi pay wallet, clients receive and pay for services or commodities from one wallet to another at no charge.
Keep in mind that agribusinesses need to have in place good business records, plans and a clear strategy to access financing during these challenging times.
For more information call: 0800250250 or WhatsApp: 0770588623
What is the role of Stanbic Bank Uganda in the agribusiness sector?
Stanbic Bank Uganda’s agribusiness segment works with all customers within the agriculture space. We look at the value chain from input suppliers, smallholder farmers, aggregators, and processors. We also engage with non-government organizations (NGOs), development institutions and ministry agencies working together to make a difference. Our role is running through that whole value chain to understand the needs of different actors and develop solutions to meet the requirements. We ensure that the solutions help them achieve their needs, and in case they require long term support, we work and walk with them along that journey.
How is the bank facilitating access to finance for the agribusiness sector?
The bank has several initiatives in place to facilitate access to finance for the agribusiness sector.
First, we’ve got a new initiative called the One Farm platform. Here, we partner with Agri-techs, who collect data from farmers and agribusinesses, analyze it to understand their requirements and provide solutions through the platform. Some of the services offered include input financing, agronomy training, insurance and information on markets. This initiative has helped to improve financial inclusion for several actors in the agribusiness value chain.
The bank has come together with several funding partners to provide affordable loans to Savings Credit and Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) and farmer groups. SACCOs receiving these funds can offer affordable loans to their members as well. We are also helping the SACCOs and farmer groups digitize records for a faster lending process. Funding partners include Agricultural Business Initiative (aBi), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The third initiative is through the bank’s conventional offerings, which cut across the different value chain players from actual farmers, input providers to processors. Essentially, we have short-term and long-term loans, invoice discounting, stock financing, and versatile asset financing. We also have the Flexi pay wallet that enables users to receive and pay for services and commodities from one electronic wallet to another at no charge.
What can SMEs do to overcome disruptions resulting from the pandemic effects?
We all understand the impact of the pandemic, and we need to protect ourselves and keep safe. It means we have to go into the digital marketplace. Embracing digital tools will keep you safe and enable you to reach more customers than opting for face to face interactions.
Suppose businesses want to last and withstand the pandemic effects. In this case, they need good business plans, financial records and a strategy to follow through during this period. It will ease access to financing that they can use for operations to adapt to the current and future changes.
Financial institutions also need to play more in this space by supporting SMEs prepare the necessary records and plans to access the financing required.
For more information and access to Stanbic Bank’s Agri-banking Team;
Call: 0800250250
WhatsApp: 0770588623
Website: www.stanbic.co.ug
Visit any of our over 60 branches countrywide!