Women Led Businesses have been stimulated to take action into participating in Public Procurement in Uganda following a training by Africa Freedom of Information centre on bid preparation.
The virtual training happened on 6th September 2023.
“The presentations were exhaustive and the presenters were good. Thank you so much. I can participate in procurement” Bella Rienal Adriel, women enterprenuer.
They were excited to learn new information about what public procurement and disposal entails. They also learnt about the regulations and procedures as well as how to submit responsive bids whenever they take part in the procurement processes.
“Thank you, for organizing this, I am blown away by the depth of information and opportuniies that are available to us.” Fiona Mwesigwa, a business woman in Kampala, Uganda
Freeman Ibingira from the PPDA, Uganda’s procurement regulatory body who conducted the training on the legal frameworks, encouraged the women to ensure they register their businesses with the electronic government portal for them to get regular updates on the various procurements that are in existence.
He shared the existing opportunities for the WLBs with in the government including the thresholds reserved for the women, the categories of services and supplies that are meant for women or ones they have a comparative advantage as WLBs.
AFIC used this as one way of sharing information about the issues surrounding public procurement and also respond to the issues identified in the research such as lack of information and capacity for them to participate in public procurement. This innovation was appreciated by the participants on one hand and was found to be very cost effective on the other hand. AFIC which promotes access to information continues to use these innovative approaches to reach out to many WLBs for equipping them with the necessary information for their involvement and participation in public procurement.
Others areas that women benefited from and were also critical for WLBs, included business development and access to finance by a Banker running the Women in Business component and passionate about women entrepreneurs. A Financial specialist and procurement consultant also delivered on an important topic of Financial Management in Public Procuremnt which again introduced the WLBs on the best financial practices they can use for them to be very well evaluated whenever they submit any bids. The Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development officer under the Uganda Women Economic Programme and Youth Livelihood Programme presented to the WLBs the soft skills required for them to have effective businesses.
He expounded on the skills like, negotiation, communication and team work. These were said to be critical for a sustainable business that is ready to grow.
AFIC conducted the two-day virtual training on 5 th and 6 th September 2023 as one of its first virtual training and found it very effective and informative. On their part, the women were excited to find the sessions very informative, eye opening on the various opportunities existing, great depth of information, and very compelling for one not to leave the training which is unusual for most online engagements. Julian Nyabuhara the ED of the Uganda Women in Trade and Manufacturing Association (UWTMA), called for more of such trainings targeting women because, majority had not attended yet they needed the same information. She expressed her pleasure to AFIC for such kind of training which ended with majority of the women challenged into registering on the electronic government portal for them to tap into the existing opportunities.
