The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has set January 2019 as the deadline for all products on Uganda’s market to secure its standards certification.
The revelation came during a training workshop that was organised by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau, UNBS for members of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association.
Angela Bageine, the chairperson of UWEAL urged her colleagues to register their businesses with URSB as the first step that will lead them to securing UNBS certification.
Hope Jemimah Kasimbazi, a Board Member of the UWEAL revealed that the organisation has set January 2019 as the date by which the standards agency will require all foreign and local products on Uganda’s market to be certified.
She said: “No local and foreign product will be allowed on market without a certification mark from the standards body.”
Now that most Ugandan women are engaged in simple product making businesses like bakery among others, there is need to have their products certified to meet the required standards and also be allowed on the market such that they can compete favourably with other country produces.
The meeting came as part of the activities to mark the month of November, a month during which women entrepreneurs showcase their successes as a means to inspire those that are struggling to attain their desired dreams.
According to a baseline study done by the World Bank (2016), Uganda is one of the countries with the highest number of women owned and operated businesses.
The statistics of women ownership are however dampened by a number of other hindrances, including lack competitive edge (80%), high cost of doing business (78%), poor business management skills (78%) poor knowledge on imports and exports (71%).
Participants urged the government and other development partners to put in place policies that address the above challenges to spur national development.
UWEAL has organised a series of activities to mark the month. Among them are sensitization meetings among women to start co-operatives, apply for loans among other financial support, and teach women how to keep records of their businesses.
