According to Awori, the women received training in business record-keeping, dealing with customers, product positioning, literacy, and leadership, all of which are intended to strengthen their position as influential members of the economy.
Local governments have been urged to begin informing market merchants on the recently passed Market Act 2023.
According to Jackie Kemigisha Kiiza, commissioner-urban for the local government ministry, the full understanding of the populace is required for the new law’s effective implementation.
The Market Act 2023, which among other things allows individual ownership of markets, streamlines operations in these private and public markets, and gives these markets’ suppliers leadership and administration, was approved by President Yoweri Museveni last month.
According to Kemigisha, the local government ministry is now drafting the regulations required for the Act’s implementation.
“The cities, district local councils, and the leaders of markets in the different areas should start sensitizing the vendors on this new law so that everyone understands their roles and avoids the past confusions,” she advised.
On Thursday, local government minister Raphael Magyezi was the principal guest at the fifth annual National Market Women Entrepreneurs Symposium in Kampala, where Kemigisha made the announcement.
economics and women
The Institute for Social Transformation (IST) organized the event, which brought together 200 female sellers from various marketplaces across the nation.
The symposium’s title—Women and the Economy: Celebrating Women’s Resilience and Rethinking on Innovations for Sustainable Livelihoods—described women’s issues and potential in markets.
60 women from various markets received diplomas from the institute after completing a two-year course in fundamental business management and contemporary living skills.
The IST board chair, Dr. Thelma Awori, asserted that one of the best ways to solve what she called the “multi-dimensional issues of women” is through training in small company administration.
According to Awori, the women received training in business record-keeping, dealing with customers, product positioning, literacy, and leadership, all of which are intended to strengthen their position as influential members of the economy.
These women need reading skills in addition to basic business abilities since it’s necessary to be literate to compete in the digital age. Their leadership development is designed to enable students to speak up for themselves, she explained.
Value augmentation
Market women are being encouraged to invest in the area for greater business returns, according to Geoffrey Etedu, national program coordinator for the government’s Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Project. The government has started improving value-addition facilities in its markets across the nation.
Etedu also urged women to participate in government initiatives aimed at reducing poverty, such as Emyooga, the Parish Development Model, and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme, in order to enhance their standard of living.
However, Hellen Ikodiri, a market vendor from the Busia area, claimed that the provisions of many government programs to combat poverty discriminate against market sellers. She urged the authorities to create certain programs that are suitable for their lifestyle and working conditions.
Rita Kabanyolo, country director for Action Against Hunger (ACF), said that women are the poorest while making up 60% of the unorganized sector and being crucial to both national and global economic development.
Because the majority of them deal with agricultural products, she continued, women need to be empowered by developing their abilities in the agricultural value chain. Therefore, adding value will make it easier to enter regional and global markets.
Stella Nakigudde from Nakawa Market8 in Kampala said the training showed her how to use co-operatives to expand her business in addition to teaching her the importance of recordkeeping in a business.
Carol Namukose, a different graduate, admitted: “I had no idea how to establish and maintain business documents. Even worse, I frequently lost track of my debtors. However, I can now find it. The records also enable me to determine whether or not my business is expanding at the end of each month.
