Uganda Revenue Authority (URA)’s ‘eBomba ya Business’ summits that are intended to re-ignite Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the COVID-19 aftershocks, will kick off tomorrow.
This is part of URA’s Taxpayer Appreciation Season (TPAS) 2020.
According to Ian Rumanyika, the Public & Corporate Affairs Manager at URA, the eBomba ya Business summit meetings will span 4 weeks every Friday of the week starting tomorrow 13/11/2020.
“Experts will discuss business aspects moderated by seasoned journalists guiding discussions on how Ugandan businesses can catapult from the COVID-19 shackles. We will focus on business opportunities and recovery during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Contention looms on whether the COVID-19 circumstances that dictate business operations and customer behaviour at present will stay when scientists find a COVID-19 vaccine or cure and there will be no more anxiety and volatility,” Rumanyika says.
He adds: “Will the new normal situation sustain, or will the world return to its old self and the traditional business models?”
Rumanyika says URA has engaged several stakeholders and come up with key topics to discuss how businesses can survive the volatility, to see their next years of COVID-19 or no COVID-19.
Below are the topics that will be discussed during the summit meetings;
13/11/2020: Survival for the fittest? (What Businesses will survive COVID?)
The first episode of the summit will focus on the theme “Analysing sectors that have persevered or succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic” to guide a discussion on the Global, Regional, National/local investment opportunities. The session will probe how to use the crisis to give business a new sense of financial purpose.
Moderator: Mr Gabriel Iguma
- Panellist 1: Sarah Ssewanyana (PhD) – Executive Director, EPRC
Topic – A New National Direction?What do the numbers tell policymakers? What should be the new national trade and tax policy priorities?
- Panellist 2: Mr. Francis Kamulegeya – Country Senior Partner, PWC
Topic –A Time for Businesses to Morph?Rethinking old business operation models. What did businesses (e.g. eBanking etc) that had no COVID-19 shocks do?
What is lost, what can be redeemed and what should businesses abandon or never go back to? And what is the future? Or How do businesses toe the new paradigm shift.
- Panellist 3: Fredrick Muhumuza – Researcher, Development Policy International.
Topic –Surviving Economic Shocks:What do the shocks to formal and informal enterprises mean including hits suffered by Uganda’s top trading partners? How do we put in context the halting of service activities of education, entertainment mean to the economy and what is the short, medium and long-term fate of such sectors and the revenue expectations by government?What Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) areas should government prioritize to beat COVID-19 shocks and what fiscal policy interventions can bring the desired change?
- Panellist 4: Ms. Anne Juuko – CEO, Stanbic Bank Uganda
Topic–Surviving Financial Shocks: How can businesses cushion against loss of performance and net worth? What cost centres should businesses touch or adjust to minimize expenditure but at the same time sustain critical functions and sustain growth? How should businesses shift within their portfolio investments to strategically-position themselves to exploit underrated prospects and emerging changes in consumer behaviour?
- Panelist5: Patrick Mukiibi – Commissioner Domestic Taxes, URA
Topic – Government Support. Under the circumstances, how are government institutions helping?
20/11/2020: Embracing Technology for Business Survival Post COVID-19.
COVID-19 has checked the robustness of businesses in many ways. The financing, infrastructural readiness, work culture, dynamic leadership and customer loyalty decisions have changed and so, the business value chains. Businesses have lost or gained clients.
It’s a mixed bag of fortunes. The crisis has cracked traditional business and governance models. In this second episode, we will dissect the “Emerging opportunities out of the COVID-19 pandemic” to reveal new business paradigm shifts that the outside world has dynamically adopted that Uganda’s local entrepreneurs can adopt.
Moderator: Mr Frank Walusimbi
- Panellist 1: Mr. CK Japheth (MD – The Innovation Village).
Topic– Transitioning from COVID-19. How do businesses seamlessly shake off the COVID-19 shocks and move from e.g. Brick and Mortar Shops to Online shops without ceding markets and opportunities to the competition?
Or how shall we regulate that the big market players co-exist in the value chain with weak players not to upset the business ecosystem as a whole?
- Panellist 2: Milly Nalukwago Isingoma (Assistant Commissioner Research Planning and Business Development, URA)
Topic– Leveraging Business Data and Technology in the case of COVID-19.
How are government service institutions preparing to leverage on business data and technology to serve clients better, cut operational costs and ease the compliance of clients.
What is the fate of taxpayers and the tax administration in the COVID-19 circumstances and the existing tax regime?
- Panellist 3: Michael Niyitegeka (Country Manager, Refactory).
Topic– Consumer expectations in the New Normal. What are the expectation of consumers in the –markets? Are businesses prepared to meet client expectations in the era of technology and data that COVID-19 has thrust them in?
How can businesses leverage technology and data to drive results and improve performance (e.g. staff)?
- Panellist 4: Vivian Ddambya (Director Technical Service, National Information Technology Authority – Uganda, NITA-U).
Topic– Putting in place strong supporting structures to enable online Business.What are the supporting structures to enable efficient use of data and technology to conduct business in private and public sector?
- Panelist 5: Silver Kayondo (Partner, Ortus Africa Capital Limited)
Topic– Building a Safe, Secure and Trustable Virtual Economy.Are businesses capable of building robustness through technology and deal with the security and privacy concerns of their clients and suppliers? What is the future of virtual transactional relationships with customers and suppliers? Can we manage them, track them, tax them and govern them? Are we safe from illicit transactions?How do we improve trust and uptake of online transactions?
27/11/2020: What has changed and what must change after COVID-19?
The first wave of COVID-19 witnessed an immediate disruption of trade routes e.g. air, cancellation of orders and a spike in demand for consumable items in the wake of the eminent volatility.
The immediate impact on value chains and consumption was strong. Was this temporary or permanent or a turning point to a new era in markets and customer needs? So in the third episode of the summit will probe the theme “the new distribution, trade and consumption patterns”.
The discussion will scope but not limit itself to the new emerging markets, demand and supply chain for business. The discussion will explain the new business lines and agenda that digital platforms have created in the COVID-19 slowdown to resuscitate struggling enterprises;
Moderator: Ms Mildred Tuhaise
- Panelist 1: Muhammad Jezani(General Manager Operations, Kenya Ports Authority).
Topic – New International Trade Dynamics. What is changing in the regional trade space (e.g. transportation and goods clearance guidelines, new delivery methods and trade regulations)? Some countries have restricted specific items (e.g. caps on the export of certain items like drugs and medicaments); how is the region prepared to tap into the opportunities of regional integration?
What international trade guidelines can resuscitate economies and keep the value chains? How has the value of businesses e.g. assets and profitability been affected? Have we over/underestimated COVID-19 impact on trade?
- Panelist 2: Ms. Biyinzika R Musoke (Head Skills Development, Private Sector Foundation Uganda)
Topic– Keeping an Edge in the Competition. Do the strict COVID-19 structural changes leave business operators in business? And how are circumstances in the global and regional markets pitting local business operators in the competition and what is their fate?
Given the free market economies, how should government support local businesses? And for how long may the temporary government interventions last?
- Panelist 3: Mr Evaristo Kayondo KACITA
Topic– Business Dynamics in Post COVID-19.The case for import substitution. What is the future for local production and export promotion? What can revamp local enterprises re-purpose existing support structures to turn-around the trend?
- Panelist 4: Mr Ramadhan Goobi (Economist, Makerere University Business School).
Topic– Market Shifts.What are the new market and consumption dynamics? Where is the change in consumer behaviour locally (compare with regional and international markets)? Is this temporary – driven by anxiety or should we see the same trend in the long run?
- Panelist 5: Mr Abel Kagumire – Commissioner Customs
Topic– Trade Dynamics in International Trade:What is changing in the international trade space (e.g. Africa intercontinental Free Trade, Import exchange, Customs Unions)? With the focus on domestics’ revenue, what is the future of Customs? How is Uganda prepared to tap into the opportunities of Africa intercontinental Free Trade?
04/12/2020: Post-COVID-19, a new dawn for business?
COVID-19 has overnight teleported businesses to new operational dynamics. Known business assumptions are no more.
There are new operational business risks to which entrepreneurs must adapt. But entrepreneurs being entrepreneurs know that uncertainty is a standing variable in any business equation; it is only the probability factor that varies. Therefore, in the fourth episode of the summit, we will focus on building sustainable businesses looking at the re-invention that several businesses have had to undergo to keep afloat.
The session will explore the sustainability of sectors that employ youth Techprenuers and Agriprenuers among others and their created new purpose and direction.
There are new workforce dynamics that businesses have to contend with whilst keeping staff motivation high. There is the need to keep the good initiatives sustainable and not temporal but also profitable and therefore use the COVID-19 crisis as an accelerator of business growth within businesses and their environment. So, there are new decisions for business operators to share the sustainability of their enterprises.
Moderator: Mr Solomon Sserwanja
- Panelist 1: Ron Kawamara (CEO – Jumia Uganda).
Topic– Re-Inventing Delivery Channels-Ecommerce. How to re-invent local distributors and international distribution? Is brokerage and commission agency? What do the trends in URA’s post parcel office tell?
- Panelist 2: James Byaruhanga (MD – Blankets &Wines)
Topic– Re-Inventing Delivery Channels-Entertainment. Content, events and entertainment business
- Panelist 3: Dr. Barbara Ofwono Buyondo (Director – Victorious Education Services)
Topic – Re-Inventing Delivery Channels–Education.
- Panelist 4: Mr. Amos Wekesa (CEO, Great Lakes Safaris)
Topic– Redeeming Uganda’s tourism potential Post COVID.
