What you need to know:
- The UN says Ugandan service providers must find ways to sustainably increase their share of the $5b (about Shs18 trillion) UN procurement opportunities
The United Nations Regional Service Centre Entebbe has said it has a procurement budget of $5b but less than 1 percent of supplied goods and services are sourced from Ugandan companies.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN Business Seminar in Entebbe, Wakiso District, Mr Paulin Djomo, the UN Regional Service Centre Entebbe director, said during 2022, Ugandan service providers only supplied goods and services worth $33m, which was less than 1 percent of the total procurement volume.
Therefore, he said, Ugandan service providers must find ways to sustainably increase their share of the $5b (about Shs18 trillion) UN procurement opportunities.
“The UN Secretariat procurement volume from Ugandan suppliers was $33.07m in 2022. More than 6,486 Ugandan suppliers have registered on the United Nations Global Marketplace at various levels but we need more,” Mr Djomo said, noting that on average, the UN Secretariat processes about 66,000 commercial invoices per annum.
The UN Regional Service Centre Entebbe is a shared service centre, which provides a number of services, among which include administration, logistics, information and communications technology to various UN missions in Africa.
The centre provides support service to more than 18 UN missions in a number of countries, among which include Central African Republic, Somalia, South Sudan, Mali, DR Congo, Libya, Cameroon and Nigeria.
Therefore, its vast area of coverage presents a huge opportunity for Ugandans, which Mr Djomo is a key revenue earner if it well tapped into.
“The number of Ugandan suppliers is very small. We would like to see an increase of Ugandan contractors doing business with us,” he said.
The UN Business Seminar attracted more than 70 Ugandan goods and services providers to discuss how to scale up the number of local contractors as well as build capacity for sustainable engagement between UN and suppliers.
The UN procurement data published in 2021, indicates that total procurement volume from Ugandan suppliers amounted to $186.6m. There are about 193 countries that supply UN but Uganda is 37th yet the centre is stationed within the country.
Logistics (transport and storage), industry, industrial cleaning, building and construction and IT are among some of the top five procurement items.
Mr Francis Mwebesa, the Minister of Trade, said the Ugandan business community must work hard to utilize the available UN business opportunities and increase the volume of trade with the United Nations.
This, he says, not only creates income for the companies involved but also increases employment opportunities for Ugandans and an opportunity to foster the local economy.
