FINANCIAL LITERACY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

 At the recently concluded Uganda Financial Literacy Association Think Tank held on 30th May 2025 at Hotel Africana, a senior official of the Deposit Protection Fund noted that the Fund insures up to 10 million Uganda shillings. The major reason given was that most Ugandan accounts have less than 10 million Uganda shillings on average. This has financial literacy lessons on a national level. The individual savings culture is also translated at the national level. Does the above state of affairs signal that our savings culture as a nation are poor? Does it signal that most Ugandans keep their money under the bed? Does it mean that many Ugandans fear stepping into the banking hall? These are all questions to which I have no answer. Recently in the Daily Monitor there was an article that pointed out that majority of Uganda's youths were addicted to gambling. Does this correlate with the low savings rates at the national level? A lot of interventions have been introduced by the governm...

 While listening to a certain television session I learnt of a Cooperative that started as a Village Saving and Loan Association with only 16 members who wanted to improve their welfare. Today this cooperative has over 5 branches in South Western Uganda and has impacted so many lives. If a group of ordinary rural farmers could have the courage to start in a humble way and today their initiative has over 40,000 members and has impacted the community, the question to the youths and elite in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is why do we fear to start small? I have spent the last 5 years conducting financial literacy training at the grassroot level especially among the youths and women . What I have learnt is that some youths especially at university are scared to start small. All they care about is studying to pass and get that dream job in a corporate entity. This is good but it is no longer sufficient for any university student to study and wait for a blue collar job. With the declin...

 I have spent the last 5 years training scores of youths in financial literacy training across the country. What I have noted is that Uganda's youths are very enterprising and resourceful. No wonder Uganda is ranked as one of the most entrepreneurial nations in the world. However in interacting with the youths especially at universities I have realized that there is a need for a change in attitude in how some university students view education. Some of the students think that education is meant to be only a shortcut to a dream job. Where as this is a noble aspiration it is a limited view of the purpose of a degree.  In his book After University What Next, Ambrose Kibuuka points out the dilemmas of today's university students. A number of them read to pass and they do not have a clear plan for their next life. Every one can do something constructive and add value to society. A number of university students have a routine life. They only attend lectures and then go back to hoste...

 How comes certain companies began from garages and today are global entities. Equity Bank started as a small building society in Kenya and today is a leading financial conglomerate in Africa. With a clear purpose a company is able to focus on the long term instead of immediate pursuits. Simon Sinek popularized the concept of Why . We have a lot to learn from successful companies as individuals. Iam always amazed by those individuals who seek to change the world with their gifts. When we read about their stories and how they started many of them started from a disadvantaged point of view. The likes of Thomas Edison who failed over 1000 times shows that he had a bigger vision that pursuing personal interests. Dr. Ben Carson was always the last in class and today he is a leading neurosurgeon. The late Dr. Myles Munroe was born in a poor family in Bahamas but he resolved from a young age that he would serve God. By the time of his death he was an international preacher and an advisor ...

 Recently a certain youth told me that the reason why she was working was to earn a salary. This got me into deep reflection. Is work only meant to earn a salary? I totally agree that money is a very important motivator for working. The question is what else should motivate us to work?  The purpose of work should be very clear. This is because we spend most of our time at work and if we have a wrong definition of work we are likely to be miserable and watch the clock. What if we redefined work as a medium of serving humanity? Most of the people who enjoy their work look beyond the pay cheque. Most of the entrepreneurs who have made an impact on the world see their work a medium to make a difference in the lives of others. Imagine a profession such as medicine which is meant to save lives, what if the dominant priority of medical doctors is to make money, where would society be headed? A number of university students make career choices basing on what the present market provide...

 I met a certain lady who told me that she had given upon dreaming big. In coaching we are taught that every person has an infinite potential. In the 5 years of conducting financial literacy training I have picked up so many lessons from communities. A number of youths have allowed  their past experiences to determine their future.  History is full of examples of men and  women who faced immense obstacles but did not quit dreaming big. The Wright Brothers faced immense criticism when they developed plans of developing an aero plane. Thomas Edison faced criticism when developing the light bulb. In fact he failed several times but he did not allow failure to define him. Dr. Ben Carson who wrote Think Big was once the last student in class. Today he is one of the leading neurosurgeons in the world. It seems to be a pattern that some of the most successful people have also faced the greatest setbacks in life. There are so many youths with brilliant ideas that can shape t...

 Recently a youth approached me for advice on how to grow his business. It had stagnated and it worried him. I asked him if he had advisors and he struggled to respond. The question is are our businesses safe without advisors to provide guidance in these turbulent times? Uganda is privileged to be one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. The question is, why do most of Uganda's small businesses collapse within two years ? Could it simply be due to lack of access to affordable finance or there are so many other underlying factors?  A close look at most of the companies that have grown into formidable enterprises shows that they had clear management structures. One of the factors that was cited as the challenges faced by Ugandan small businesses in the Uganda Business Development Strategy of 2024 is that they lack business management skills. Most of the small businesses though have potential to grow lack business plans to guide their business operations. A questio...

 We have all messed up in one way or another. We have seen entrepreneurs who lost it all but because of a positive attitude they came back to glory. Life is always tough for both good and bad people. What makes the difference is out attitude towards making a difference in life. The likes of Oprah Winfrey were born in poor families but since her child hood she had a dream that she will become a wealthy woman and today she is . As a financial literacy coach I have had a privilege of speaking to countless youths who have financial scars. They were defrauded of their hard earned money. That is not a nice feeling. I remember just a few years back a certain company closed after conning the public of their hard money with the promise of high returns.  The hope in life is that as long as a person is alive and has the right attitude he or she can make a financial comeback. I know of an international preacher who was sexually molested at a young age but today her ministry is blessing co...

 A university student recently told me he was waiting for his academic transcript to apply for a job. I am not denying that a transcript is a critical document in gauging our academic potential. Universities are playing a critical role in nurturing future leaders of the country. The attention of this article is to assess whether a person's potential can be effectively be manifested by the transcript. As a coach we are trained that no one can fully explain the potential of a person. What if a student failed a course unit simply because they were sick that day, does that mean they are academically weak? Research shows that some of the most successful businessmen in town have never stepped into university and their companies are employing university graduates. More still if an academic transcript is the shortcut to the world of employment, how come there is a high rate of unemployed youths in the country. Recently a university vice chancellor noted that Ugandan universities were churn...

 A recent graduate told me that he works so hard but his finances are not increasing. We are living in tough times where finances are scarce. What we focus on expands. The mind is a very powerful tool n creating abundance or scarcity.  How come there are people from less privileged families that have built arcades? How come there are educated people who have failed to advance financially? It seems there is a close correlation  between what we focus on and what we achieve in our lives. Oprah Winfrey was born in a poor family but she always focused on the fact that she had a big dream that she would one day become a wealthy woman and today she is a billionaire. The power of focus enables us to but our energy on things that matter most. When we focus on becoming wealthy we command our mind to get rid of limiting beliefs that we are not good enough to make wealthy. When we focus on making wealth we shall look for mentors and coaches who can speak to us wealth creating opportu...

 A certain youth asked me a question, how come I work hard but have failed to change my financial situation? It was not an easy question to answer but I encouraged her not to give up. We are living in hard economic times and the effects of the lock down and Covid 19 are still being faced. When it comes to changing our financial situation it starts with building up our mind. The mind is the greatest weapon that we have to either build success or failure. Generations have built up wealth simply by choosing to build up their minds. The courage to make a decision that from today onwards you will make wise financial decisions is one of the greatest decisions that you will ever make.  It takes courage to decide to be different. Society wants us to behave like everyone. The key question is, is every thing that is done by the masses correct. If culture informs us that we should always be dependent on others, can that trait make us wealthy. Some cultural stereotypes have to be challeng...

 Recently I heard a group of friends who were eager to go to KFC. This is a frequently visited place especially the youths ( university students are culprits here). It got me thinking, how was KFC started ? It was started by Colonel Sanders during his retirement when he was broke. He remembered that he had mastered a secret recipe for chicken. He marketed it to different companies but was rejected several times. Did he give up? No. He was determined and the rest is history. There is a lot we can learn from Colonel Sanders. He started KFC at the age of 65 years. What a wonderful man and entrepreneur who did not regard age as a limitation to his creativity. For the past 5 years I have been involved in training countless youths and groups across the country about financial literacy and enterprise development. I should acknowledge that Ugandans are very hard working people. No wonder Uganda is ranked as one of the most enterprising countries in the world. However most of the small busi...

 At a recent mentorship session a youth asked me a question, how fast can I get a job after university? It told him that it was very possible if he was willing to serve the world. Service is the quickest route to the world of influence. We are living in a generation where the masses want to get before adding value to the world. How possible is this when even Jesus the son of God focused on serving the world. This is partly one of the reasons why Christianity is a global movement. Is service a tough journey? It should not be. The ideology of service to humanity has to be amplified.  Why do we remember the likes of Mother Tereza and Nelson Mandela? This is because these were ordinary people who dedicated their lives to serving the world. For example Mother Teresa did not wait to amass wealth to serve the poor. She simply decided to serve the most neglected in India Calcutta. This gift of service over time gained her world wide attention. Professor Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank ...

 A few months back I was tasked by a client to explain to her why her business was struggling. After a thorough discussion I realized that the business lacked continuity and had no clear road map. It required a business plan. Uganda is ranked as one of the most enterprising countries in the world and this is a great trait in us. Despite this strength most of our businesses are micro and face formidable challenges such as access to affordable credit, registration encumbrances and weak operational systems. This means a lot of efforts are needed to strengthen them and no one can do it alone.  A business plan is a road map and no just a document to raise money . Even  businesses that have business plans tend to shelve it yet it is a very critical document in guiding the operations of a business. It is very easy to plan for other events in life but neglect the source of our livelihood. Businesses are like a body and it has systems that require adequate care. We knew of certain...

 Joseph (not real name) set up a retail shop and after a month he closed it because of lack of customers. The question is, what went wrong? The economic conditions under which businesses operate are tough with so many uncertainties. The cost of doing business is generally high. Uganda is credited as one of the most enterprising countries in the world. Unfortunately most of  these businesses do not last beyond the second birth day.  In today's article I want to reflect on a question why do Indian businesses or companies last longer than Ugandan companies ?  How many Ugandan businesses go beyond the second generation? If they are few what leads to this state of affairs? Is it a cultural issue? Is it a lack of business management skills? We all know about Mukwano and Madhvani industries. These have become case studies for years in the Ugandan education system. The question is why is it hard for us to replicate the same practices among Ugandan businesses? Why is it that ...

 Recently John's ( not real names ) shop was closed by tax authorities for evading taxes. He had done this practice for a long time .By the time of Uganda Revenue Authority(URA) assessment he had a huge debt to pay. As we speak he is really stressed and is seeking financial assistance to offset the URA payment. Uganda's business community is largely informal  and compliance to the law is always a hard task. Unfortunately paying tax is a necessary evil. Most of the businesses that have benefitted from big contracts are compliant with paying tax and are fully registered. In the 5 years that I have spent as a finance and business coach I have appreciated the fact that Ugandans are very enterprising people. However when it comes to compliance with the law there is no option. Most businesses have also missed out on financial assistance from banks because they are not fully registered , have no records and fail to meet the tax obligations. The beauty is that in a bid to ease tax pay...

 Foe the past 5 years I have been in the business of conducting financial literacy training especially among the youths who form the majority in the country(over 70%of Ugandans are below 30 years). I have learnt a lot as an individual out of interacting with communities. One of the lessons that I have picked is that Ugandans are very enterprising and resilient people. With this attribute , I have noted that given the right conditions and support every Ugandan has the potential to become wealthy and positively transform their communities. A case in point is a young man who attended a financial literacy training organized by Equity Bank .This was a moment of transformation for him. Fast forward the youth has set up various enterprises that are employing very many young people. He is now a respected leader in the community. The issue is that financial advancement starts with self belief. People who have changed their financial circumstances are never defined by their environment or th...

 At a recent financial literacy training that I conducted on behalf of Bank of Uganda, I asked the participants what they would do if they go one billion Uganda shillings. The different reactions to the questions got me thinking. In particular there was one lady who asked what is one billion? Another said she would run mad. What does this teach us about money? We all have different reactions and attitude towards money. Without a clear plan and adequate plan for money it is a recipe for disaster. We have either read or witnessed stories of entrepreneurs who started with little capital and have built vast empires. We have also witnessed stories of international sportsmen and women who earned a lot of money and are now broke. The lesson is with a wrong wiring for money, regardless of amount it will soon be gone. A recent report about the Parish Development Model funds shows that a number of beneficiaries diverted funds to unplanned ventures. What is the cause of this? Why is it that s...

 Our attitude in life leads to success or failure. Unfortunately attitude is just a choice. There are plenty of examples of entrepreneurs who started with almost nothing and today are mega entrepreneurs. Microsoft was started by Bill Gates when he dropped out of university. A number of successful businessmen in Kikuubo, which is Uganda's Central Business District never reached university but are sustaining the economy. The lesson in all this is that attitude plays a big role in what we become in life. Some of the leading banks such as Equity Bank started as small building societies and today they are financial conglomerates impacting millions of lives. Had the founders focused on the bottlenecks around them, we would have missed out on the great impact of such initiatives. With a wrong attitude towards money many youths have diverted their hard earned resources to get rich schemes. Others have diverted the funds to drugs and other unplanned ventures. With a wrong attitude towards m...

 We live in a world of uncertainty. With the cuts in donor funding there is a lot of tension in the job world. If an organization informs us that they can no longer afford our services due to unstable funding then that is a tough situation to find ourselves in. Amidst the hard financial times, what can be done to make sure that society is financially resilient. Lack of resources can cause a strain on life because it causes a high dependence burden, children can drop out of school, there is an increase in crime as youths can resort to illegal means of surviving. During lock down there was an incident where 2 young men burnt themselves because they could not cope up with the cost of living. This means that absence of finances can cost a life. The key question is during hard financial times, can we cope up with life? Do we have the courage to stand social pressure of high expectations? We live in a highly demanding society that despite the high cost of living and uncertainty there is ...

In life no man is an island. When one reads about all the great entrepreneurs in the world, they did not achieve the success alone. They built a team round them. This means we have some lessons to learn from them. I have observed that successful entrepreneurs are good at networking. They strive to seek value from others. They also know that the more one helps others to achieve what they want they inevitably also achieve what they want.  How come financial institutions with all their financial muscles have an umbrella association called Uganda Bankers Association? How come all manufacturers in Uganda have an umbrella body called Uganda Manufacturers Association? How come all the leading entrepreneurs in Kampala have a group called Kwagalana group. This is a lesson to every person that no one can live in isolation. Every person has something they can offer to the world. Unfortunately a number of people are shy to market their value to the public and they miss out. Coca Cola has exist...

 Recently I talked to a leader of a local NGO who told me that the cut in USAID funding left many organizations grappling on how to survive. This includes cutting on their expenditure and laying off staff. We all know how tough it is to survive without a source of income. For a long time the local civil society has depended on the outside world for funding but these days it is proving to be very unsustainable. The key question is what should be done? Is it time for African countries to look internally for sustainable resource mobilization? Are Africans fully equipped with knowledge to mobilize their own resources? Do we fully grasp the notion of resource mobilization? Is resource mobilization limited to physical cash? Does Africa possess the much needed resources for its development? Without adequate resources life is at a standstill. At the same time we have witnessed entrepreneurs who had almost nothing end up building mega empires. We have witnessed Indians come to Uganda with a...

 It is common knowledge that everyone wants a better life. The question is why is it few people who achieve their dreams? Recently I was in a mentoring conversation with one of my mentees. She told me that some people get jobs due to luck. Is this true? I took the opportunity to inform the mentee that though luck plays a part, it is not enough. If we study successful people who have left a mark on the world, they set their own agenda and pursued it. Was it easy for them? The answer is no. Nelson Mandela one of the great African icons spent 27 years in prison. He was driven by a greater cause. What about Mother Teresa who cared for the neglected poor people in India. What about Oprah Winfrey who was born in a poor family but had a vision that she would become one of the wealthiest women in the world.  The stories above should motivate us that we can not wait for luck to change the world .God has deposited in each one of us can do power to change our circumstances. Unfortunately...