Local manufacturers, suppliers and other line stakeholders on Friday converged for the UMA – UN Suppliers Seminar in Kampala to discuss strategies on achieving success in their business during the current economic crisis.
In his remarks, Deo Kayemba, the Chairperson Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), revealed that UMA being the largest business member organization has a core mandate of promoting interests of industrialists while fostering their competitiveness nationally, regionally and globally.
UMA represents Small, Medium and Large Enterprises of every industrial sector.
“This conference is an integral part of the UMA’s strategic initiatives to increase market for locally made products through tapping into the wider United Nations eco-system in sectors such as; Construction, Transport & Storage, Food & Beverage Products, Health, Medical Equipment & Pharmaceuticals, Farming, Power Generation Machinery, Domestic Appliances, General Machinery, Fuels & Lubricants, Industrial & Heavy Machinery, Engineering, Finance, Insurance, Media, IT Communications, Real Estate Among Others,” Kayemba said.
He also informed participants that The United Nations (UN) is made up of a variety of operational entities, Funds and Programs, Specialized Agencies, Secretariat, Commissions, Tribunals as well as Field Peacekeeping with each having a distinct and separate mandate to deal with public and thus avails a wide range of business opportunities.
Kayemba further called upon the general public to always support local manufactures by buying products made in Uganda “because they are of high quality and offer value for money.”
Rose Plung, the Head of Procurement at UNDP, revealed that UN, through its various agencies, is committed to assist Government in building capacity of local suppliers so that they can be in position to operate through out the whole region.
“There is a lot of opportunities available in the UN, for example, we have a lot of needs ranging from construction, stationary, computers, machinery among others,” she added.
The conference was running under a theme “Local Sourcing for Sustainable Business Growth” geared towards furnishing members with information on how they can tap into the procurement opportunities offered by the United Nations.
It attracted participants from Uganda and other countries both physically and online.
