When you are in private business, life throws at you all kinds of emotions. One day you are lonely, afraid, worried, and very scared about the life’s choices you made. There is always a voice in your voice coming at you like a mid-night lightning that sparks in the skies with a penetrating light into your bed, followed by a loud bang that leaves you so scared only to realize that light travels faster than sound if you can hear it, you are still alive. Another day, you are all up into the sky flying with the eagles. Life looks…
#COVID19 Recovery and Response Strategy
Are you ready for the new normal, or are you waiting for the return of the old normal? Take a few minutes to read the 4-steps guide of winning amid a crisis When it comes to leading with confidence during a crisis, do not get ready. Stay ready. There is just no time for preparation. The #covid19 pandemic just happened. Not one company or country predicted it. Many companies were caught unawares. Not everyone has been badly hit. Some companies have registered the highest growth since the outbreak. Many technology companies and entrepreneurs are thriving. The pandemic has leapfrogged many…
#Covid19 has redefined banking. Are you ready?
Lots of changes have happened in banking. Internet and mobile banking have redefined banking convenience. It is no longer a battle of who has the biggest head office and branch network. It is which bank is nimble and most innovative for effective customer convenience. What are your delivery channels – web, mobile (app and USSD), and integration to the payment ecosystem? If your customers cannot open an account online, check their balances, transfer money between bank and mobile, withdraw via agents or mobile money kiosks, and of course paying bills at any vendor. Modern banks have gone beyond a software…
How effective is your #covid19 response and recovery strategy?
Is your coronavirus pandemic response strategy adequate? Are you in control of the pandemic or the pandemic is controlling you? This pandemic just happened. It has since changed many things. It has changed the way we live. No close contact with friends amid restricted movements. It has changed the way we work. For many, from offices to home. We deliver remotely. It has changed the way teams gather, the way we communicate and connect. Today, onsite events and meetings have turned into virtual ones. Global gatherings are no longer physical, but virtual. #covid19 has changed our living spaces. Homes have…
Local vs. foreign investment, frustrations of doing business part 4
There is a mentality that foreign investors are better than local ones in my African countries. With rampant corruption, most officers prefer to work with ‘foreign’ companies for several reasons. They get the opportunity to travel abroad (to the offices of foreign companies) to ‘confirm’ a few things. This has a lot of benefits to them including travel allowances and kickbacks. For example, several local companies offer excellent translation services. However, what happens is that Ugandans prefer to go for foreign companies who in most cases outsource the services to the local firms at very low cost which is exploitative.…
Who knows you? Frustrations of doing business in Uganda, part 3
If you have not been disappointed, you probably have not yet tried. One of the local entrepreneurs explained how his business hit a snag because executives just don’t have time to listen. After failing to meet government executives, he visited the Private Sector Foundation and Uganda Investment Authority. These too turned cold feet. Never mind these are top organizations whose mandate is to contribute and foster investment and economic growth of the country. “I was told by the receptionist that the CEO could not see me. Not even his assistant had time to meet me. At the Private Sector Foundation,…
