Ugandans fear risk-taking

Ocici insists that it is better to start small and keep the resilience

By David Ssempijja

THE fear to start small in business remains the leading stumbling block to Uganda’s focus on entrepreneurial development, a top official noted recently.

Charles Ocici, the head of Enterprise Uganda, an enterprise development organisation, pointed out that the culture of entrepreneurship was not yet rooted among Ugandans because of lack of self-confidence.

He explained that Ugandans were scared of beginning businesses with the little at their disposal.

“Wealth creation requires vibrant people with the zeal to begin any business no matter how small or big your start-up capital is.

“The success or failure of any business has no bearing on how big or small it started,” Ocici said.

He was speaking during the business and enterprise start up tool training reconvened to listen to the testimonies of the beneficiaries on the performance of their small businesses started five months ago.

He noted that educated youth were making the biggest mistake of waiting to begin big. The youth, Ocici added, pay attention to negative public opinion about businesses that begin in a humble way.

“Another area where people go wrong is the failure to be resilient in case of business challenges.

“Some people start businesses with courage but easily lose the momentum to stay on course,” Ocici observed.

He said since 2007, his organisation had trained over 13,800 people in the basics of starting and growing small scale businesses.

He disclosed that a follow-up report on the individuals indicated that at least 70% of those trained had begun and maintained their businesses.

Ocici explained that the entrepreneurship trainings that are conducted across the country were targeting over 1,500 trainees every month in the next two years.