BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES: A CORNERSTONE OF ENTERPRISE GROWTH

 At a recent Trainer of Trainers Business Development Services Training I appreciated the role that advisory services can play in developing enterprises. According to the Uganda National Business Development Strategy of 2024, over 90% of the economy is dominated by the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises. These are the engine of growth for Uganda's economy. However they are dominated by a high degree of informality. This limits access to capital as they are viewed as risky by financial institutions. This forces the entrepreneurs to seek alternative sources such as loan sharks. More still the informality makes these institutions lose out on competitive tenders because they lack operational systems and records to back up their sustainability. More still a number of microentrepreneurs are unregistered. 

For the past 5 years I have been training microentrepreneurs on entrepreneurship development and financial literacy and I have appreciated the challenges that entrepreneurs face in running businesses. It is not easy to keep a business afloat. However it is also important to have a long term view about the business. For example I have asked a number of youth entrepreneurs whether they have a business plan and in most cases they do not have. Simple steps such as having a simple business plan and other documentations to support business growth are key in enterprise development. This means that as we seek to grow our enterprises we need to develop a growth mindset.  I always have a long held view that the enterprise will only grow as far as its leader. I have observed that the most successful entrepreneurs are always seeking knowledge on how to scale their businesses and improve their business operations. It is very important that as we seek to grow the economy we should intentionally build a strong entrepreneurial culture among the youths who form over 70% of the population. A number of youths set up businesses as an option. In other wards they are not fully committed to the business and in the end they struggle to survive. We have seen Indians who come to Uganda with almost no capital and within a year they have fully fledged companies. I believe we have some lessons to pick from their business practices.

Business development services have a wide range but they enable a company to take stock of its health status. As a banker I normally ask microentrepreneurs whether they know the worth of their business and in most cases most of them estimate. Now when a bank wants to extend a loan to such an enterprise it has to really base on risky assumptions and sometimes they are unable to extend a loan to such a business. As Business Development Service Providers we need to make the entrepreneurs the role of record keeping in enabling the business to make proper decisions. I remember 4years ago I helped a market vendor to open an account yet she initially had a fear for banks and today she is a successful entrepreneur. She has acquired financial assistance from banks several times.  The lesson is that there are so many entrepreneurs with potential to scale but they need a lifting hand. All successful entrepreneurs are faced with various limitations . The difference is the attitude. We should not focus on the limitations but rather on the potential that we can manifest through hard work and collaboration.

Business Development Services enable entrepreneurs to share ideas and network. Did we know that all leading businesses have associations where they network and share expertise? Take an example of commercial banks under their umbrella association called Uganda Bankers Association. Such platforms enable entrepreneurs to learn best practices and to spot marketing opportunities.

Therefore as we seek to develop the economy and our communities, it is necessary to make a bold move to influence entrepreneurs to value Business Development Services. Many global entities such as Equity Bank attribute their transformation to Business Development Services .


For Individual and Corporate Financial Literacy Training Contact :


Phillip Kiryowa

Personal Finance Coach 

Advanced Empowerment Link

+256752615916

"For Financial Freedom and Sustainable Enterprises"

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