Exploring key challenges to firm success in Uganda

IGC, BRAC and the World Bank co-hosted a workshop with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives on ‘Stimulating Firm Growth, Productivity and Remunerative Employment in Uganda’. This workshop was part of ongoing IGC-funded work with the Ministry on vocational training and technology adoption and their role on productivity.

This one-day workshop brought together leading policy-makers, practitioners and academics working on issues relating to firm productivity in Uganda. As part of the event, researchers from BRAC, USC, Stockholm University, Makerere University and UCSD presented initial findings from ongoing research, including on:

• The role of technology and mechanisation in firm productivity
• The role of credit constraints in limiting investment in inputs for agricultural production
• The impact of skills training and job matching on labour outcomes
• The effect of pollution on firm productivity

Powerpoints can be found below. Policymakers and practitioners from the Ministry of Trade, Uganda Manufacturers’ Association, NEMA, Uganda Cleaner Production Centre, UNBS, DIT and Ministry of Education also presented on policies for firm productivity in these areas. Discussion at the workshop centred around evidence on challenges faced by firms in Uganda, and potential policy options for future reform.