By Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa/ Umoja Standard.
Kampala, Uganda: While addressing young women in business today at Uganda National Cultural Center, Mrs. Jacklene Arinda Akampwera the CEO JADA Coffee emphasized the issue of quality of products brought to marked.
“Product quality is essential for your sales and company image. In this era of social media people have brief comments on your product if found deserving but in case poor quality they’ll write a whole paragraph describing every detail of how your item is undeserving.” Jackie stated.
“To avoid this therefore, you need to always emphasize that you suit acceptable product standards on market to be able to make sales in the competitive business environment.” She added.
(L-R) Ms. Jackie Arinda, CEO JADA Coffee consults with Ms. Nancy Linda Kalembe Former Uganda Presidential Candidate in 2021 Elections at the sidelines of the Expo. Photo by Julius Mugaga.
Ms. Jackie in the same regard called upon Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to be cognizant of the information they upload on their website claiming that it’s largely discouraging and later affects clients’ confidence in Ugandan products especially on the global market.
“You’ll largely see posts of list of companies whose products have not met standards and in my view it would be the other way round in order to win clients confidence in Ugandan products especially during export.” She noted.
She used the platform to advise young women to build social capital if they’ll take off in their business. “Before you think of hunting for market of your products, your social network is your first market but the question here becomes, which kind of people are in your network?, are they helpful?, so this means that you need to have a ‘helpful’ network that can lift you.” She advised.
She encouraged Women and Young girls to support each other’s businesses and avoid non developmental friends and conversations.
‘As a woman you don’t have to depend on other people to facilitate your lifestyle because if you use your money to do so, you’ll then attach value to what you’re doing and uphold it.’
“Then financial discipline, this is an important key for any business to thrive, you ought not to be wasteful, use business money for a deserving cause, reinvest in your business for growth and pay your employees in time and in full if you want good results.” She appealed.
She however reminded the women that in business there are challenges and failures at times, she stressed that in case of a failure anywhere in one’s business, they have to understand that ‘Failure is an expensive lesson therefore one needs to understand why has the failure come?, get good guidance, take a break then decide whether to stride on or quit.’.
*She said all this during the WOMEN IN BUSINESS EXPO 2024 at Uganda National Cultural Center (UNCC), the home of National Theatre.
At the same event was Ms. Nancy Linda Kalembe, the former sole woman Presidential Candidate for the 2021 Uganda’s General Elections.
In remarks, she advised women to be realistic to themselves by trying to live in their means, not despise humble beginnings and embracing their levels with hope that the situation would later change for the better.
She went on to ask them to know their audience and in that way they should be able to guage how they carry themselves (present themselves) as they’ll be judged by that what to attract clients or chase them away.
“Be ready to be different from others in order to run your business successfully.” She stated.
Women in Business Expo was initiated to provide a platform for women in business to escalate their businesses to great heights, showcase women in business through profiling and advertising in the media, provide women with financing solutions that meet their needs while negating the phobia for borrowing among women as well as networking (social capital).