Uganda’s Minister for Trade, Industries and Cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde has said that the persistence of the Coronavirus pandemic may limit input sourcing from China and final consumables from traders but creates an opportunity for Uganda’s industries to add value and do final processing of some of their products.
Kyambadde, who was speaking this morning at the dfcu Bank customer dialogue on supporting Business and industries during and after the current Coronavirus Global Crisis said Uganda is the food basket for Africa and therefore ought to process and package its products and export to the region.
“Additionally, this is also an opportunity to embrace digitalization as members of the business sector so as we can reduce the cost of doing business. E-commerce should be highly considered during this time,” said Kyambadde.
dfcu Bank customers have this morning spent time discussing how their businesses will survive the global COVID-19 (Corona Virus) outbreak.
The engagement comes at a time the viral disease is taking a toll on world economies, with some markets experiencing the worst financial plunge since the 2008 financial crisis. As the human cost of the outbreak continues to rise, the economic cost also continues to mount as well.
“Government is committed to doing business with the local business community and Uganda Development Bank is working on offering affordable credit lines.
“We would also like to encourage Ugandans to utilize domestic tourism to create an opportunity for the country so that we retain the money within the economy.
“I reiterate my appreciation for dfcu Bank and I am impressed with the way they manage their business with a lot of care and concern. The way they look after and encourage women’s businesses as well,” she added.
According to a global survey done by Oxford Economics, it has been forecast that the spread of the virus to regions outside Asia would knock 1.3% off global growth this year, the equivalent of $1.1trillion in lost income.
Mathias Katamba the dfcu Bank Chief Executive Officer said some of the Banks business partners are starting to feel the effect of the outbreak considering China’s position in the global supply chain.
“In the financial sector in Uganda, we are yet to feel the actual effect, but we know that some of our partners in the hospitality, tourism, logistics and aviation sectors are quickly feeling the impact.“It is estimated that the worldwide aviation industry will lose up to $113 billion this year. As the crisis disrupts […]