Okumu was hit with iron bars and stabbed on Monday as he was returning home from his bar. He died at Mulago Hospital. Chaos ensued as crowds flocked to his bar where the body lay in state. Many wailing residents launched a hunt for the assailants. The first suspect, only identified as Okenyi, was beaten to death. One of the residents said Okumu named three accomplices, who are yet to be arrested. Residents attributed the increased crime to the Police which has been releasing several suspects without committing them to court. “They are always set free a day after without charge and upon return, they cause more havoc,” Alex Mutebi said. | |||
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Two killed in new wave of city crime
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
US doctors perform free brain tumor operations
By Eddie Sejjoba A team of neurosurgeons from the United States of America on Monday carried out nine brain tumor and spinal operations at Mulago Hospital. The beneficiaries included one senior government official and two babies. The 22-man team was led by Prof. Michael Haglund, nurses and other support staff from Duke University in North Carolina. The cases were among the 50 which were scheduled to be done in five days. They arrived on Saturday and worked closely with four senior neurosurgeons and other medical staff from the neurosurgical and the orthopedics departments of Mulago. Haglund handed over modern medical equipment worth $1m. The equipment will be used to handle complicated surgical cases. Michael Edgar Muhumuza, the head of the neurosurgical unit, said one complex brain operation in a US hospital costs over $50,000 minus insurance and transport costs. He added that the same operation is done at a cost of over $10,000 in Kenya. “This camp is a huge contribution towards Mulago Hospital and the Government because the 50 cases we are going to handle with the visiting team would cost billions if we were to refer them abroad,” he said. Muhumuza said the team would also train the neurosurgeons and orthopedics staff how to handle complex cases. | |||
Top Earning web sites
| Rank | Website | Founders | Annual Revenue | Per Second |
| 1 | Larry Page and Sergey Brin | $21,800,000,000 | $691.27 | |
| 2 | Jeff Bezos | $19,166,000,000 | $607.75 | |
| 3 | Jerry Yang and David Filo | $7,200,000,000 | $228.31 | |
| 4 | Pierre Omidyar | $6,290,000,000 | $199.45 | |
| 5 | Nathan Myhrvold. | $3,214,000,000 | $101.92 | |
| 6 | Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek, | $2,250,000,000 | $71.35 | |
| 7 | Jeff Robbin | $1,900,000,000 | $60.25 | |
| 8 | Marshal Vace | $1,892,000,000 | $59.99 | |
| 9 | Jesse Fink | $1,884,000,000 | $59.74 | |
| 10 | Added Mark Schroeder | $1,447,000,000 | $45.88 | |
| 11 | Reed Hastings | $1,200,000,000 | $38.05 | |
| 12 | Terry Jones | $1,100,000,000 | $34.88 | |
| 13 | Nick Swinmurn | $1,000,000,000 | $31.71 | |
| 14 | David Litman | $1,000,000,000 | $31.71 | |
| 15 | Erik Prince | $968,000,000 | $30.70 | |
| 16 | Jeff Katz | $870,000,000 | $27.59 | |
| 17 | Robert Brazell | $834,000,000 | $26.45 | |
| 18 | Tom Anderson | $800,000,000 | $25.37 | |
| 19 | Niklas Zennstrom | $550,841,000 | $17.47 | |
| 20 | Zhang Chaoyang | $429,000,000 | $13.60 | |
| 21 | Robb Brock | $400,000,000 | $12.68 | |
| 22 | Eric Baker | $400,000,000 | $12.68 | |
| 23 | Jack Ma | $316,000,000 | $10.02 | |
| 24 | Mark Zuckerberg | $300,000,000 | $9.51 | |
| 25 | Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, | $300,000,000 | $9.51 | |
| 26 | Mark Vadon | $295,000,000 | $9.35 | |
| 27 | Stephen Kaufer | $260,000,000 | $8.24 | |
| 28 | Mark Getty | $233,200,000 | $7.39 | |
| 29 | Garry Itkin | $207,000,000 | $6.56 | |
| 30 | Henry Jarvis Raymond | $175,000,000 | $5.55 |
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
World trade rises by 20% - WTO
| ||||||||||||
German national held over drug trafficking
After he failed to identify the contents of his luggage as demanded by the security personnel, he was handed over to the Aviation Police, who scanned his property and discovered boxes containing suspected cocaine. According to the Police, Heinrich said he did not know the contents of the packages, claiming he was requested by some people to carry the “gifts” to someone in the UK. The boxes were wrapped in two Masai blankets. The officer in charge of criminal investigations at the airport, Josephine Alupo, said Heinrich was the fifth suspected drug trafficker to be arrested at the airport this year. In March, a South African woman was arrested with five kilogrammes of heroine. In June, another Germany national was arrested after the Police discovered cocaine concealed in two leather bags. Last week, a Tanzanian travelling from Brazil to Dar-es-Salaam, was arrested while carrying 84 pellets of narcotics in his stomach. | |||
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Two more Kenyans charged with terrorism
The suspects were arrested last week with Mbugua Mureithi, a Kenyan advocate, on suspicion of being linked to the al-Qaeda Islamist terror group. Mureithi, who said he was in Uganda to defend terrorism suspects, was over the weekend deported to Kenya. The three were arrested at Niagara Hotel in Najjanankumbi, off the Kampala-Entebbe highway. | |||
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Internet could spur businesses
UGANDANS will be able to boost their businesses or other individual projects by exploiting the immense opportunities offered by the Internet. This will be made possible by a Google project in six African countries, including Uganda, officials revealed at a two-day web and mobile conference at the Speke Resort Munyonyo last week. The meeting attracted technology students and business people. The search giant will engage the creative minds of technology students to focus on mobile development, Google maps for business, website optimisation and online advertising, Julie Taylor, the Google spokesperson for sub-Saharan Africa, explained. He added that Uganda was chosen for the project because of the its stability, growth and a young educated population. Through trainings and partnerships, the world’s leading search engine, has designed programmes that should see people move away from just using the search engines get information and sending mails, to exploiting business positioning and related tools for growth, using the almost limitless power of technology. Through the projects, which are being pioneered in Nigeria in the next few weeks, 200 businesses will also be brought online where they can use Google templates to create websites. Global experts believe Africa can leap past the broadband generation, and completely exceed the rest of the world in the new mobile Internet generation, which is viewed as the future of the global economy platform. “Access barriers must be addressed because without solving that, Africa will never have a large number of Internet users. This can act as an incentive,” said Nelson Mattos, the Google vice-president for Europe, Middle-East and Africa, while speaking at the conference. Africa’s potential, largely remains on paper, waiting to be turned into reality. But there is already a glimmer of hope sweeping across the continent. Experts argue that any entrepreneur worth their salt cannot boast among peers if they have no presence in Africa. The continent is on the move with great returns, and, yet untapped reserves. This partly perhaps explains Google’s interest in a new frontier that offers great returns for the future, according to industry observers. Also, the entry of the undersea fibre optic cables has boosted Internet access because of its broadband size and reliability. However, prices are yet to drop significantly. According to Mattos, Internet becomes vibrant when there is local content. This is encourages people to come online and harness the value of net. “He who controls content also controls you,” said an expert. Mattos says experience shows that people stay online a little longer when they can relate to online content, and thus the need to localise content. Local content also cuts the cost of paying for international broadband. “Internet must provide value by providing relevant content,” said Mattos. Students have been encouraged to view and grasp the country’s numerous challenges as an opportunity and turn into practical solutions for the country. “Students have to look at the problems of their society and find solutions for them through products that appeal to the people,” said Mattos. Michael Niyitegeka, a lecturer in the Faculty of Computer Science at Makerere University, said the initiatives, involving students with great ideas, also act as a motivator for them to pursue products’ development. One way of doing this is to harness a vibrant eco-system of developers, who make products that have a mass appeal to woo people to use the Internet. However, Uganda, like many African states, still faces the challenge of poor infrastructure, low Internet penetration and widespread illiteracy. The continent also lags behind in the information age. The disparity is so great that just about 1% of global Internet content is from Africa. This can also be compared with the gaps in global trade where, despite Africa possessing the vast majority of resources, it controls just about 2% of global trade. This, however, is changing first with the continent leading in voice penetration and Internet catching fast. Uganda had 2.5 million Internet users as of August 2009, or about 7.7% of the population, according to the International Telecommunication Union, and 4,800 broadband Internet subscribers as of December 2009. | |||
Monday, September 13, 2010
When misfortune ignites creativity
Bank on wheels, the new face of banking
OVER a couple of years, numerous innovations have been undertaken to create convenience in banking. For the last 10 years, more Ugandans have benefited from improved banking services after the introduction of services like Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), internet banking, and money transfer systems. The industry has also been improved with the advent of mobile telecom firms� involvement in electronic money transfer. Now the industry has introduction systems that involve moving banks in vans. The system is designed to extend banking services in very remote and hard to reach areas where commercial banks would definitely consider unfeasible to establish permanent branches. Juma Walusimbi, the director of communications at Bank of Uganda says that Bank on Wheels is among the central bank- approved systems of commercial banks� mobile banking services. These are some of the innovations we need to ensure that the country increases the number of the banked population, it introduces people in the hard to reach areas to the benefits of banking,� he said. He however, added that banks involved in this type of services have to ensure that there is sufficient security to avoid losing customers� money. �Security would also tally with the Central Bank�s requirement of modern risk management procedures that commercial banks must undertake,� he said. Michael Odong is a traders in Kikuubo, a Kampala busy trade area, he hails from Napak district. Sending money to his aging mother was always very difficult. Where as he could regularly send money by bus, his brother Jacob would ride over 60 miles from Bokora sub-county to Lokopo trading centre to access the money, yet at times some messengers would misbehave and deduct some of the money. Fausia Eperu, Odong�s mother now receives money from her son through her own bank account, courtesy of Post Bank�s mobile bank moved in vans from place to place. �My mother must safely and quickly access money at the end of the month, thanks to the new modern technology,� Odong noted. Code-named �Bank on Wheels�, the system that begun in 2008 has bailed out over 25,000 people in 17 districts out of the traditional systems of keeping money in tins and pots as well as difficulties in sending and receiving money. Mobile banking is currently done in the districts of Bududa, Mbale, Napak, Kotido, Moroto, Nakapiripit, Abim Amuria, Soroti and Kumi. According to the bank�s marketing manager William Alemi, over eighty units have been created where the vans make programmed stop-overs for withdrawals, deposits, account opening, loan acquisition, payments and applications. Other services include; money transfer through Western Union, effecting standing orders among others. �The vans are as equipped as banking halls, backed by technology to access customer accounts� information. The system is also fitted with ATMs,� says Alemi. | ||||||
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Business -supplier of Data capture software wanted and On site traing wanted
1. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has received funds from United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to be used for the acquisition of
Information Technology (IT) equipment, soft ware and training as support
to the preparation for the 2012 National Population and Housing Census
(UPHC). This is a readvert for the tender that appeared in the New
Vision of 29th April 2010. Those who had applied earlier are encouraged
to re-apply.
2.The Uganda Bureau of Statistics invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the supply and delivery of:
Lot I-
-Automatic Image Scanner
-Barcode Reader/Scanner
- Automatic Data Capture Software
-Native Barcode Generator Software
-Onsite Training
3.Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the open domestic bidding procedures contained in the Government of Uganda’s Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003 and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries.
4. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Procurement and Disposal Unit and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below from 8:00 am-5:00 pm.
5. A complete set of Bidding Documents in English may be purchased by interested bidders upon payment of a non-refundable fee of UGX 100,000 (Uganda Shillings One Hundred Thousand only). The method of payment will be by use of a Bank Payment Advice form to be obtained from the Procurement and Disposal Unit office in Room G.8 during working hours. The document will be picked from the address below. No liability will be accepted for loss or late delivery.
6. Bids must be delivered to the address below at or before 11:00am on All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of UGX 3,500,000 in the format provided in the Bid document.
Late bids shall be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 11:30pm on 10th September 2010.
The Executive Director
Uganda Bureau of Statistics,
Plot 9 Colville Street
P.O. Box 7186 Kampala.
2.The Uganda Bureau of Statistics invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the supply and delivery of:
Lot I-
-Automatic Image Scanner
-Barcode Reader/Scanner
- Automatic Data Capture Software
-Native Barcode Generator Software
-Onsite Training
3.Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the open domestic bidding procedures contained in the Government of Uganda’s Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003 and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries.
4. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Procurement and Disposal Unit and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below from 8:00 am-5:00 pm.
5. A complete set of Bidding Documents in English may be purchased by interested bidders upon payment of a non-refundable fee of UGX 100,000 (Uganda Shillings One Hundred Thousand only). The method of payment will be by use of a Bank Payment Advice form to be obtained from the Procurement and Disposal Unit office in Room G.8 during working hours. The document will be picked from the address below. No liability will be accepted for loss or late delivery.
6. Bids must be delivered to the address below at or before 11:00am on All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of UGX 3,500,000 in the format provided in the Bid document.
Late bids shall be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 11:30pm on 10th September 2010.
The Executive Director
Uganda Bureau of Statistics,
Plot 9 Colville Street
P.O. Box 7186 Kampala.
e-commerce Tourism in Uganda
What is e-tourism about?
Electronic (e)-tourism is the use of technology in managing and marketing tourism. It’s not just about having websites or taking occasional e-mails from potential clients but it’s about using technology to manage and sell your business. You attract visitors to your business not just through your website but other social media like; Facebook, Twitter and YouTube videos and photos on flicker and through online travel reviews. It also involves being able to take a booking and payments in real time completely online without any human interaction. This is the way most tourism is being sold around the world.
Electronic (e)-tourism is the use of technology in managing and marketing tourism. It’s not just about having websites or taking occasional e-mails from potential clients but it’s about using technology to manage and sell your business. You attract visitors to your business not just through your website but other social media like; Facebook, Twitter and YouTube videos and photos on flicker and through online travel reviews. It also involves being able to take a booking and payments in real time completely online without any human interaction. This is the way most tourism is being sold around the world.
Why should the industry players adopt e-tourism as opposed to business as usual tourism?
Half of all the tourism marketing globally is being done online from point of research to point of sale. In some of those critical markets like the United States or Western Europe, that goes up to 70 per cent. So the challenge for Africa and most emerging markets is the little tourism that we are selling. Uganda sells less than 2 per cent of its tourism online. Compare that to 50 per cent global average or 70 per cent in the US. What we (E-tourism Frontiers) do to our advantage is try and change that by educating people in emerging markets about e-marketing and how to increase the use of technology so that they can get payments online and increase their sales online.
Half of all the tourism marketing globally is being done online from point of research to point of sale. In some of those critical markets like the United States or Western Europe, that goes up to 70 per cent. So the challenge for Africa and most emerging markets is the little tourism that we are selling. Uganda sells less than 2 per cent of its tourism online. Compare that to 50 per cent global average or 70 per cent in the US. What we (E-tourism Frontiers) do to our advantage is try and change that by educating people in emerging markets about e-marketing and how to increase the use of technology so that they can get payments online and increase their sales online.
In monetary terms, how big is the e-tourism industry globally?
Globally, it’s about $130 billion (Shs286 trillion) in sales. It’s the number one selling commodity, trading more than music downloads books and other commodities. For instance, in the US last year, the number one online spend was travel at 40 per cent and was followed by electronics at 11 per cent of all money spent online.
Globally, it’s about $130 billion (Shs286 trillion) in sales. It’s the number one selling commodity, trading more than music downloads books and other commodities. For instance, in the US last year, the number one online spend was travel at 40 per cent and was followed by electronics at 11 per cent of all money spent online.
What would be the cost implication of adopting e-tourism for players in Uganda’s tourism industry?
The cost of marketing is a lot cheaper than conventional marketing. If you think about the cost that goes into printing a brochure, getting photographs taken, text written, get the printing done, and post those to markets it can be incredibly expensive whereas if you update your Facebook page, it costs almost nothing. If your clients are taking videos and photos of your products and sharing them with their friends on Facebook or YouTube and you are linking to that, there’s content of much more value there. So, there’s a huge cost saving.
The cost of marketing is a lot cheaper than conventional marketing. If you think about the cost that goes into printing a brochure, getting photographs taken, text written, get the printing done, and post those to markets it can be incredibly expensive whereas if you update your Facebook page, it costs almost nothing. If your clients are taking videos and photos of your products and sharing them with their friends on Facebook or YouTube and you are linking to that, there’s content of much more value there. So, there’s a huge cost saving.
So, how can Ugandan tourism companies take advantage of the e-tourism opportunity?
Well some are already doing it to some degree. People are starting to use websites and critically looking at social media because just about everyone is on Facebook now. It is a great example of how powerful social media can be. But there’s a long way to go. One of the critical problems we face in this region is the lack of e-commerce. And even if you do everything right to get somebody to come to your website, they want to book and pay but they cannot do it. Luckily, we have a conference coming up in Nairobi and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) will be launching, for the first time, products for tourism businesses. This will cater for reservations that would allow tourists to make online bookings and make payments directly to KCB accounts. That’s huge for the tourism industry but that’s probably the most important thing they need to do. The financial sector needs to recognise that this is probably the strongest source of foreign exchange in any country. They need to create supporting solutions like KCB has done.
Well some are already doing it to some degree. People are starting to use websites and critically looking at social media because just about everyone is on Facebook now. It is a great example of how powerful social media can be. But there’s a long way to go. One of the critical problems we face in this region is the lack of e-commerce. And even if you do everything right to get somebody to come to your website, they want to book and pay but they cannot do it. Luckily, we have a conference coming up in Nairobi and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) will be launching, for the first time, products for tourism businesses. This will cater for reservations that would allow tourists to make online bookings and make payments directly to KCB accounts. That’s huge for the tourism industry but that’s probably the most important thing they need to do. The financial sector needs to recognise that this is probably the strongest source of foreign exchange in any country. They need to create supporting solutions like KCB has done.
Which players in the industry do you recommend for fast-tracking the transition to e-tourism?
The hotel industry is the most obvious because if you look at the distribution of the industry globally, it’s almost entirely online. It takes them out of that commission relationship they used to have with agents and tour operators and they start direct selling and it’s so easy for them to start selling and making reservations. Tour operators and agents can be cut out of business and so they must think of how they can make themselves relevant and valuable. And that value can be in providing local content about the tourism industry.
The hotel industry is the most obvious because if you look at the distribution of the industry globally, it’s almost entirely online. It takes them out of that commission relationship they used to have with agents and tour operators and they start direct selling and it’s so easy for them to start selling and making reservations. Tour operators and agents can be cut out of business and so they must think of how they can make themselves relevant and valuable. And that value can be in providing local content about the tourism industry.
The
internet is a critical factor in e-commerce but in this region,
reliability remains a major challenge. Isn’t that a limiting factor?
Yes it is a challenge but we have no option and you cannot use that as an excuse. It’s an issue but we have to find solutions. When you are in business saying there’s no electricity is not going help you. If you have clients abroad there are certain expectations they have. So, it’s about having backup systems in place. It’s about building websites and offering content that can respond to low broadband speeds. But speeds are becoming less of an excuse because we have fibre optic cables like SEACOM and TEAMS here. And increasingly, there’s need for less bandwidth to upload content on websites.
Yes it is a challenge but we have no option and you cannot use that as an excuse. It’s an issue but we have to find solutions. When you are in business saying there’s no electricity is not going help you. If you have clients abroad there are certain expectations they have. So, it’s about having backup systems in place. It’s about building websites and offering content that can respond to low broadband speeds. But speeds are becoming less of an excuse because we have fibre optic cables like SEACOM and TEAMS here. And increasingly, there’s need for less bandwidth to upload content on websites.
Selling a service
Selling a service involves creating a positive feeling in the
prospective customer. Take the example of a well dressed person’s
appearance. It says: Here’s an important person; intelligent,
prosperous, and dependable.
In a tour business, the
operators use graphic descriptions in words and pictures of what awaits
you in the sites that you are being persuaded to visit - printed with
state- of -art technology in brochures.
The sales
person who may have been there himself/herself shows these places,
highlighting their most attractive features with the kind of enthusiasm
that entices you to give it a try. When you decide to book a tour, what
you buy is a promise; as seen by your eyes and believed by your heart.
That
promise is of; a good feeling, probably a lifetime experience, and real
value for your time and money. Because you don’t touch, feel or taste a
service before you consume it, a strong feeling of anticipation must be
aroused in a prospective customer for him or her to make a buying
decision.
You must provide the prospect, reason and
logic for buying! Like the well dressed fellow, if he is male, the lady
he asks out is persuaded by his appearance and manner of his dress.
The
catch phrase thus in making money in services is: Become a master at
creating anticipation of good and memorable experience when people
choose to consume your service. That anticipation must be matched with
reality. When your client buys, he or she must get what was anticipated
and more.
If it’s a restaurant, the client must get
“please have great day salutation” after the meal, for a tour; the
client must get, “It has been great keeping company with you”, and so
forth… The seed of money is service. Putting service first is an
attitude that creates wealth. Put service first and money takes care of
itself.
Selling a service
Selling a service involves creating a positive feeling in the
prospective customer. Take the example of a well dressed person’s
appearance. It says: Here’s an important person; intelligent,
prosperous, and dependable.
In a tour business, the
operators use graphic descriptions in words and pictures of what awaits
you in the sites that you are being persuaded to visit - printed with
state- of -art technology in brochures.
The sales
person who may have been there himself/herself shows these places,
highlighting their most attractive features with the kind of enthusiasm
that entices you to give it a try. When you decide to book a tour, what
you buy is a promise; as seen by your eyes and believed by your heart.
That
promise is of; a good feeling, probably a lifetime experience, and real
value for your time and money. Because you don’t touch, feel or taste a
service before you consume it, a strong feeling of anticipation must be
aroused in a prospective customer for him or her to make a buying
decision.
You must provide the prospect, reason and
logic for buying! Like the well dressed fellow, if he is male, the lady
he asks out is persuaded by his appearance and manner of his dress.
The
catch phrase thus in making money in services is: Become a master at
creating anticipation of good and memorable experience when people
choose to consume your service. That anticipation must be matched with
reality. When your client buys, he or she must get what was anticipated
and more.
If it’s a restaurant, the client must get
“please have great day salutation” after the meal, for a tour; the
client must get, “It has been great keeping company with you”, and so
forth… The seed of money is service. Putting service first is an
attitude that creates wealth. Put service first and money takes care of
itself.
Advancing business through technology
Ms Rosemary Akello has been running a hotel in downtown Kampala
for about five years now. Over the years though, her customers have had
to endure torrid times as they access her hidden restaurant. She told
Smart money in an interview recently that she has time and again
painfully lost potential customers who find it difficult to access with
ease the location of her cosy restaurant as it is overshadowed by
several other buildings in the middle of the town.
In
a similar predicament is Mr Ivan Bwambale, who runs a supermarket and a
hotel on the outskirts of Kampala. In an attempt to turn his fortunes
around, he decided to offer a discount every Wednesday, ranging from
between 7 and 10 per cent on every item bought in his store while every
Friday his restaurant makes more offers just to lure that extra client.
Despite
the attractive offers, Mr Bwambale fortunes remain crest fallen as
customers are still hard to come by. The two are now considering massive
investment in advertising, a move experts object to, saying that the
two - businesses will have to ‘break the bank’, something that will
instead open up what the experts call a “Pandora box”.
In plain terms, this means that they will need a lot of money to
finance their business and this could get them into trouble as their
capacity to sustain that kind of financing is unsustainable. “To sort
out challenges like that, we have developed an online portal service for
businesses to market their services,” the founder of Maswali Limited Mr
Christopher Kanabi-Mulinde told Smart Money in an interview recently.
According
to Mr Kanabi, the online portal services which operates pretty much
like an online business directory, provides instant searches for all
kinds of services and locations in a given distance. He says: “If you
want to find suppliers of products and services in your local area
Maswali.com comes in handy, you don’t need to physically move to look
for anything anymore, save your time and just click the mouse and you
will be sorted out.”
With Maswali.com buyers and sellers are brought together through
an integrated collection of simple but cost effective tools, an
innovation, which if well embraced by SMEs will certainly make a
difference in their businesses.
The Maswali.com
services or other related services are important for an SME because the
world is increasingly turning away from the conventional way of doing
business to the use of Information Technology. Analysts now fear that
local SMEs, which do not have the capacity to use modern methods of
doing business, could be left out as the world increasingly becomes a
global village.
According to Mr Kanabi, Maswali.com
gives more than a business name, including postal address, and a
telephone Number. It provides useful business information about what the
business does, its Website and e-mail contacts, price lists, special
offers or coupons, opening times, maps and locations, parking
information, business calendar or events schedule, photo galleries,
video adverts, and a business network for sourcing excellence and
competitive tender opportunities for products and services. He says
Maswali.com the services portfolio includes, without limitation,
classified listing, enhanced listing, super listing, and banner
advertising services.
A list of items in each service
offer is provided on the ’advertisers’ page. From time to time other
Services may be added, and others removed when neccessary. He says: “Our
listings include category tags, which may describe your business,
products and/or services, which enables your business details to be
displayed on the Maswali.com website to users who perform a search using
these category tags.”
Its important to note that
Maswali.com reserve the right to refuse or remove any category tags from
your business listing or banner that it believes does not in any way
describe one’s business, products and/or services and/or may mislead
users of the maswali.com website.
In terms of cost, he
says it is not only affordable but negotiable too, given that they offer
a wide range of services, including special arrangement for schools and
SMEs among others. However the price range is between Shs50,000 and
Shs250, 000, depending on services one needs to access. He says each
client is given an own account with a confidential security code. For
those who can’t create their own accounts one in relation to their
business can be created.
Advantages of internet to SMEs
Small and Medium Enterprise with information-based
products have a real advantage in the net worked world. Not only can web
sites display product information and take orders, but they can deliver
the end-product immediately and at a low cost.
These
benefits accrue to among others music, video, software companies,
lawyers, accountants, stockbrokers, consultants, restaurants and super
market retailers. SMEs have never had an excellent time such as these
where they can form more-or-less informal global networks, so that they
can provide support around the world at very low cost and obtain
expertise on local issues and problems. In many cases, consumers prefer
to deal with smaller firms. This means that there are benefits in terms
of image to position a small firm as part of a network of local experts.
Niche
marketers can be big beneficiary in this era of internet. Though in
Uganda there are no many real examples of small firms that have
successfully used the Internet to exploit niche markets, online based
company like maswali.com now want to ensure that Ugandan services and
products in particular are known around the world.
With
online transaction and a niche market, competition is significantly
less, customers are far less likely to engage in price comparisons (and
far more willing to tolerate delays and product imperfections), and
relatively high freight charges are not so noticeable.
Risks
Companies with physical products may be at a disadvantage. They must deal with the complexities and expenses of international order fulfilment something which has so far prevented even amazon.com from obtaining a profit from its widely utilised online book store operations.
Companies with physical products may be at a disadvantage. They must deal with the complexities and expenses of international order fulfilment something which has so far prevented even amazon.com from obtaining a profit from its widely utilised online book store operations.
The
issues of distribution, warehousing, timely delivery, order tracking
and (above all) return of unsatisfactory goods are such as to make most
small companies pause before they decide to go into business on a global
scale (business over the Internet).
Small companies
competing in standardised product areas face serious challenges.
Products such as CDs or DVDs - which are effectively identical, and for
which only service and price can differentiate sellers - face enormous
competition and frequently do not last long. Customers of online stores
are notoriously fickle and disloyal.
One example of
poor service can be enough to send an online shopper to a rival store,
while order fulfilment and product returns are difficult, expensive and
logistically complex. It is already becoming apparent that successful
online purveyors of CDs, books, DVDs and videos are comparatively large
companies which can absorb freight costs, and can offer speedy and
efficient returns service for imperfect products.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
ICT Sector Growth Averages 38% Over the Last 4 Years
Over 3.5 million users connected to mobile phone networks
Telecommunication Coverage in Uganda
BackgroundUganda’s Informationand Communications Technology (ICT) sector is dynamic and vibrant. The sector has registered double digit growth since 2000 and grew by 33% in 2006/2007. Investment inflows
have been very strong and in 2006, the sector attracted in excess of US $73 million. Direct employment stands at 6000 while over 350,000 people are indirectly employed. Sector dynamism is a result of Uganda’s
good ICT legal and regulatory framework, a stable micro economic environment and economic reforms
pursued since the early 1990s. The telecommunications sub-sector, formerly dominated by a single national
operator, has been progressively liberalised over the last 10 years. Infrastructure capacity is rapidly improving. Most national and regional transmission links are digital. Optical fiber links connect major economic centres, with expansion in progress. There is extensive use of
microwave in the backbone infrastructure and Vsat Services. International gateways are satellite based but
connection to the world optic fiber network is eminent.
This dynamism is a result of a good legal and regulatory framework, a stable micro economic environment
and economic reforms pursued since the early 1990s. Although still small, export of ICT services has
started generating foreign exchange inflows. With Number of telephony Customers and Teledensityvirtually no earnings in 2001, the sector now earns over US $ 10 million per annum.
Improving tele-density
Tele-density as given by percentage of population owning a fixed and or a mobile phone increased from 8% in June 2005 to 13.3% in July 2006. Over the last year (July 2006 to June 2007), Uganda’ subscriber base grew by mores than 1.5 million new contracts, reaching a total of over
3.5 million, representing a 68% annual growth rate.
than 40 percent of the population access telephony using
public pay phones. Additional 10,393 public payphones were installed during the 2006/2007 financial year;
this number represents the phones installed by the three operators and excludes phone kiosks set up by
private businesses.
Expanding the national infrastructure backbone Uganda has launched a US $ 30 million National Data
Transmission Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) and Electronic Government Infrastructure (EGI) project.
The NBI is intended to ensure that affordable high bandwidth data connection is available in all major
towns of the country by 2010. The EGI is designed overhaul government communication infrastructure and
to reduce the cost of doing business in government
Telecommunication Industry Operators – 2007
National Telecom Operator (NTO)-2
Cellular Telecom Operator (CTO)-1
Public Infrastructure Providers (PIP)-4
Public Service Providers (PSP)
- Capacity Resale only-4
PSP- Voice and Data only-10
PSP- Voice and Data plus Capacity resale -2
Investment Opportunities
A wide range of opportunities are available due to Uganda’ geographical location which favours businesss
process outsourcing and low licensing and entry cost. Other positive factors include a strong market
potential across most service areas, a skilled labour force with specialized ICT training, a population that fluently speaks English, low factor costs including land, good quality support infrastructure and a young population suitable for ICT.
Postal Courier Services
68 % of the Ugandan population lives in rural areas and post courier services are still an essential mode of information and services delivery. The postal business has expanded and attracted new investments. The national target is to have a postal access inany areas with more than 250 inhabitants.
Private Courier services.The need by customers for faster, more secure and efficient mean of goods distribution and delivery has
become more demanding. Whereas substantial volumes of mails are delivered through the
traditional postal systems, same-day or overnight door-to-door delivery services are expected. Private
Licensed courier operators fill this gap. The license authorizes them to carry and convey articles by land
.air and water within Uganda for local licensees and beyond for regional and international licensees.
Indicative Business Opportunities in the Sector
Coverage of servicesThe activities of the private couriers are mainly centered within and between the major urban
centres, while Posta Uganda covers a much wider area of the country. Currently UPL has a network of
11 Regional Head Post Offices, 51 Departmental Post Offices, 255 Sub-Post Offices, over 1623
Stamp Vendors and 70,865 installed private post office boxes. While only a very small proportion
(about 5%) of UPL mail is delivered to home or office addresses, the rest of the deliveries are made through private letterboxes located at Post Offices.
Business Process Outsourcing
Call Centre Services and Business Support
E-Commerce & M-Commerce Solutions and B2B solutions
Software Development and Training Opportunities
Software testing & Assurance
Data Integration
Data Warehousing and data warehousing
Integrated Solutions Planning
Hardware Equipment Assembly
Multimedia Development
Internet Applications & E-Translation Services
Rural Communications
Broadband Service provision
Software Solutions for Financial Sector
Network Computing /Management software
Intranet Internet &Extranet Applications
Professional Solutions for Manufacturing Industry
IT Education and Training and setting up of ICT virtual zones
Monday, September 6, 2010
Users of financial statements and Their Information Needs
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The users of financial statements include present and potential
investors, employees, lenders, suppliers and other trade creditors, customers,
governments and their agencies and the public. They use financial statements in
order to satisfy some of their different needs for information. These needs
include the following:
(a) Investors. The providers of risk capital and their advisers are
concerned with the risk inherent in, and return provided by, their investments.
They need information to help them determine whether they should buy, hold or
sell. Shareholders are also interested in information which enables them to assess
the ability of the enterprise to pay dividends.
(b) Employees. Employees and their representative groups are interested in
information about the stability and profitability of their employers. They are also
interested in information which enables them to assess the ability of the enterprise
to provide remuneration, retirement benefits and employment opportunities.
(c) Lenders. Lenders are interested in information that enables them to determine
whether their loans, and the interest attaching to them, will be paid when due.
(d) Suppliers and other trade
creditors. Suppliers and other creditors are interested
in information that enables them to determine whether amounts owing to them
will be paid when due. Trade creditors are likely to be interested in an
enterprise over a shorter period than lenders unless they are dependent upon
the continuation of the enterprise as a major customer.
(e) Customers. Customers have an interest in information about the continuance
of an enterprise, especially when they have a long-term involvement with, or
are dependent on, the enterprise.
(f) Governments and their agencies. Governments and their agencies are interested in the
allocation of resources and, therefore, the activities of enterprises. They
also require information in order to regulate the activities of enterprises,
determine taxation policies and as the basis for national income and similar
statistics.
(g) Public. Enterprises affect members of the public in a variety of
ways. For example, enterprises may make a substantial contribution to the local
economy in many ways including the number of people they employ and their
patronage of local suppliers. Financial statements may assist the public by
providing information about the trends and recent developments in the
prosperity of the enterprise and the range of its activities.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Delay in oil exploration is welcome
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Thursday, September 2, 2010
Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology
| 1. Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) has allocated funds to be used for the Supply, delivery, installation and commissioning (including training of the users) of Electronic / Telecommunication and Laboratory Equipments. 2. Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the Supply, delivery, installation and commissioning (including training of the users) of Electronic / Telecommunication and Laboratory Equipment. 3. Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the open international bidding procedures contained in the Government of Uganda’s Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003; and is open to all eligible bidders. 4. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below at 7(a) from 8:30am to 4:30pm on working days. 5. A complete set of Bidding Documents in English may be purchased by interested bidders on the submission of a written application to the address below at 7(b) and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of UGX 100,000 (Uganda Shillings One Hundred Thousand only). The method of payment will be by deposit on the Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology account against a bank deposit slip issued in the Procurement and Disposal Unit (PDU) at the Institute, located on Plot 9-21 Port Bell Road, Nakawa. The document will be picked by the bidders from the address given in 7.0. A pre-bid meeting shall be held on Friday August 27th, 2010 starting at 11:00am at the address in 7(b). 6. Bids must be delivered to the address below at 7(a) at or before 11am on October 1st, 2010. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of UGX 12,000,000 (Uganda Shillings Twelve Million only). Late bids shall be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 7(b) at 11:30am on October 1st, 2010. 7. (a) Address documents may be inspected at, issued from and delivered to: The Head, Procurement and Disposal Unit Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology Plot 9-21Port Bell Road, Nakawa Tel: 0414-220490 (b) Address of Bid Opening: The Board Room Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology Plot 9-21Port Bell Road, Nakawa Ground Floor, Administration Block PRINCIPAL UGANDA INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY BID NOTICE UNDER OPEN INTERNATIONAL BIDDING SUPPLY, DELIVERY, INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING (INCLUDING TRAINING OF USERS) OF ELECTRONIC / TELECOMMUNICATION AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENTS UICT/SUPLS/09-10/00007 1. Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) has allocated funds to be used for the acquisition of Consultancy Services for the development of a Strategic Plan and Business Plan for UICT. 2. UICT invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the provision of Consultancy Services for the development of a Strategic Plan and Business Plan for UICT. 3. Bidding will be conducted in accordance with the open domestic bidding procedures contained in the Government of Uganda’s Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003; and is open to all eligible bidders. 4. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below at 7(a) from 8:30am to 4:30pm on working days. 5. A complete set of Bidding Documents in English may be purchased by interested bidders on the submission of a written application to the address below at 7(a) and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of UGX 50,000 (Uganda Shillings Fifty Thousand only). The method of payment will be by deposit on the UICT account against a bank deposit slip issued in the Procurement and Disposal Unit (PDU) at the Institute, Plot 9-21 Port Bell Road, Nakawa. The document will be picked by the bidders from the address given in 7.0. A pre-bid meeting shall be held on Friday August 13th, 2010 starting at 11:00am at the address in 7(b). 6. Bids must be delivered to the address below at 7(a) at or before 11am on September 3rd, 2010. Late bids shall be rejected. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below at 7(b) at 11:30am on September 3rd, 2010. 7. (a) Address documents may be inspected at, issued from and delivered to: The Head, Procurement and Disposal Unit Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology Plot 9-21Port Bell Road, Nakawa Ground Floor, Business Development Centre Room Tel: 0414-220490 (b) Address of Bid Opening: The Board Room Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology Plot 9-21Port Bell Road, Nakawa Ground Floor, Administration Block PRINCIPAL UGANDA INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY BID NOTICE UNDER OPEN DOMESTIC BIDDING CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC PLAN AND A BUSINESS PLAN FOR UGANDA INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (UICT) UICT/SRVCS/09-10/00102 | |
UEDCL - Tender
| UEDCL - Tender | ||||||
| Thursday, 19th August, 2010 |
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| 1. Invitation to supply and deliver a pole handler tractor Procurement reference number: UEDCL/SUPLS/2010/10713 | ||||||
Maxwell Stamp PLC - TENDER
| Maxwell Stamp PLC - TENDER | ||||||
| Monday, 16th August, 2010 |
| |||||
| Call for Expression of Interest for the Evaluation Component of the Uganda Cash Transfer Scheme - Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE) | ||||||
Ministry of Works and Transport Telegram - Tender
| Ministry of Works and Transport Telegram - Tender | ||||||
| Thursday, 19th August, 2010 |
| |||||
| Ministry of Works and Transport Telegram: �MINIWORKS, Telephone: 256-41-320101/9, Telex: 61313 WORKS UGAFax: 256-41-320135, E-Mail: MOWHC@imul.com, Headquarters, P O Box 10, ENTEBBE, Uganda. | ||||||
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