By Amos Wekesa
One of the challenges I see for Uganda is that many people especially those in position of responsibility think we need very complicated solutions to our problems or to grow our economy.
People will air out very complicated suggestions when asked what Uganda needs especially when it comes to improving our economy. It’s the most basic thinking and actions that help economies.
In about four meetings now, I have simply told some people who in my opinion can make a difference if they so chose that Uganda now simply needs marketing of its products and services and would be shocked about what happens.
Marketing has very many definitions but I choose to associate with one defined by the New York Times in 2017. It defined marketing as the art of telling stories so the enthralling the people lose track of their wallets. Is there a better definition than that above?
According to marketing, if I have never seen you or heard about you then you actually don’t exist. That means I can’t deal with you or buy a product or service from you.
Old economics says that one has to have heard about your product or service at least 27 times before they can buy it.
That means that one person might need to hear 1000 times before they buy and another might need to hear once and they buy.
It’s a game of averages. It’s old economics because technology has redefined marketing and now a customer is exposed to more products and services than before. You got to constantly be in the market for your product to be bought.
Old economics says that one satisfied clients can inform 3 to 4 people and the dissatisfied one can tell between 10 and 11.
Because of technology today, one negative comment about your service can reach millions costing you thousands in value. It’s estimated that one negative review on tripadvisor can cost you up to USD 200,000 value in business.
Anyways, today agriculture produces like matooke are going for shockingly low prices. Abiaz Rwamwiri recently told me, he has a lusuku of matooke in Bushenyi and they are giving out free matooke because of low demand. Matooke went for as low as UShs 1k for a bunch which was UShs 35k before.
I bought pineapples at UShs1k each in Luwero from a roadside vendor who is a middleman. How much is the farmer getting? How will that farmer believe when you tell him agriculture is our future? Which is future is that? My Kenya airways pilot friends tell me how there is so much demand for farm products in Dubai, china, Europe etc.
Some ‘clever’ people will say standards standards. Wapi, I was introduced to a Kenyan guy by Paul Mukasa working with World Bank. Guy told me, he buys sweet potatoes from Ugandan farmers, packages them in Kenya and exports to Eastern Europe. How about we think in the same directions?
Kenya and Ethiopian airlines have survived the COVID-19 challenges by transporting cargo using passenger planes.
Amos we drop food to these markets but it’s like dropping a grain in an ocean of demand.
I know many people will say but we don’t have cargo planes? Yes, but if marketed aggressively, business people due to demand will find cargo planes to transport our foods to markets willing to pay better prices.
Uganda is probably the only country with two seasons for growing say maize. This season we are going to bumper harvest of maize and it’s going to be a challenge to farmers.
Uganda has been producing 9m metric tonnes of maize. 4m metric tonnes lost in poor post harvest handling. Only 800,000 metric tonnes are dried and stored well.
Ugandans eat 1m metric tonnes of maize annually and export the 4m to Tanzania, Kenya, Sout Sudan and Rwanda. Uganda needs at least processing and storage capacity of 2m metric tonnes. With that, the farmers will access better prices for their produce hence encourage farming as an economic activity.
Tourism and hospitality brings in big spending power for agro-products but COVID has let us down. Those restaurants and hotels support farmers heavily through buying their products in bulk but that isn’t happening now due to low demand of tourism services.
Anyhow, if we simply marketed, Uganda with its agriculture products and tourism potential, Uganda would never need to over borrow money.
How can we get our TV presenters engage these politicians on topical issues like the above?
The author is a passionate marketer of Uganda’s tourism sector and the CEO at Great Lakes Safaris
