“The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have significant potential to spur overall economic development and take a leading role in poverty eradication, jobs and wealth creation as well as improving the quality of life of the African people,” said Hon. Amelia Kyambadde, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Uganda.
While officially opening the 31st COMESA Intergovernmental Committee held on 15 November in Kampala, Hon. Kyambadde said that it is estimated that there are about 1,100,000 MSMEs in Uganda, providing employment and income generation opportunities to low income sectors of the economy.
“However, that although MSME’s constitute about 90 percent of the private sector in Uganda in terms of both formal and informal composition, there is a challenge of their high mortality rate, with at least one-third of all the start-ups collapsing before the first year.”
She outlined some of the challenges faced by MSMEs and reiterated the need for the meeting to come up with measures to tackle these challenges and spur MSMEs to engage in intra-trade and hence stimulate the overall economic development for Africa.
“It is through trade and not aid that we will be able to develop Africa and more so, intra-Africa trade,” she added.
Hon. Kyambadde informed the delegates of a number of reforms embarked on by Uganda that are aimed at strengthening the capacity of MSMEs and added that such reforms will not only enable the MSMEs to grow and be able to compete within and beyond the COMESA region but also aim at removing the endemic NTBs that continue to hinder trade across the borders.
Hon. Kyambadde emphasized Uganda’s commitment to regional integration.
“We have undertaken extensive stakeholder consultations regarding Uganda’s joining of the COMESA Free Trade Area. Uganda is currently negotiating the formation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area composed of the COMESA-EAC-SADC regional blocs. In this regard and based on previous studies, it has been recommended that Uganda should adopt a phased approach to acceding to the Tripartite Free Trade Area, first by joining the COMESA Free Trade Area, before ultimately joining the Tripartite Free Trade Area when it is finally established,” she said.
In conclusion, Hon. Kyambadde reiterated Uganda’s commitment to all COMESA activities and the integration agenda and pledged to coordinate and mobilize other stakeholders to embrace and consolidate the gains made in the COMESA region so far.
The meeting, held at Speke Resort Munyonyo, was attended by delegates from Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Eretria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauririus, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.