By Elijah Khisa
Enterprise Uganda is set to celebrate 25 years of service after equipping more than 230,000 individuals and enterprises with specialised business training and start-up skills, an official has said.
David Baziwane, Business Development Specialist for Partnerships and Ecosystem Development at Enterprise Uganda, said the institution has provided business development training to Ugandans since its establishment, helping them acquire the knowledge and skills needed to start and manage businesses.
Baziwane said Enterprise Uganda is the government’s business training solution provider, offering professional knowledge and skills to members of the public seeking to successfully navigate their business journeys.
He urged young people in leadership positions to use their influence in communities to mobilise citizens to seek professional business skills training as one of the ways of addressing poverty.
Baziwane made the remarks on Friday, September 18, 2026, on the sidelines of a two-day engagement for National Youth Council leaders and other stakeholders held at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala.
The engagement was organised by the National Planning Authority (NPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, with funding support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
It brought together representatives from government ministries, departments and agencies, district youth leaders, development partners, academic and research institutions, the private sector, civil society organisations and the media.
The engagement was held under the theme, “Strengthening Institutional Partnerships and Building Accountability for Action.”
Baziwane told more than 200 participants that Enterprise Uganda would soon celebrate 25 years of providing strategic business training opportunities to individuals and enterprises across the country.
He said the institution was established under an Act of Parliament, with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development responsible for its supervision.
Enterprise Uganda was among several government departments and agencies that exhibited and shared technical knowledge with participants during the engagement.
Its technical officers provided insights into how to run businesses successfully with minimal risks, while also explaining how young people can access professional business planning and management skills at relatively low cost.
Baziwane said Enterprise Uganda, under the leadership of Director General Charles Ocici, has a mandate to provide professional start-up business skills training to Ugandans, including universities and tertiary institutions, as well as government and privately owned commercial enterprises.
He said the training equips participants with knowledge on how to start and manage businesses, contributing to the country’s economic development agenda.
The workshop also provided a platform for stakeholders to deliberate on opportunities for young people in education, innovation, research, entrepreneurship, employment, access to financing and leadership.
At the closing ceremony, participants adopted joint resolutions and presented them to the government and development partners for consideration and possible action.
Among the technical facilitators who delivered closing remarks were Dr John Ssekamatte Ssebuliba, President of the Population Scientists Association; Judith Mutabaazi, Manager of Population Programmes at the National Planning Authority; and Florence Mpabulungi Tagoola, Programme Specialist for Data and Population Dynamics at UNFPA.
Donald Waruhanga, President of the National Youth Coalition for SDGs, together with National Secretary for Publicity Wanyama Reagan, thanked the government, development partners, civil society organisations and the media for supporting the engagement.
They said the training had equipped young leaders with technical and operational skills that would enable them to mobilise grassroots communities to participate in national development programmes.
Key resolutions
The youth leaders noted that many young people continue to face barriers in accessing information, opportunities, skills, financing, innovation support and meaningful participation.
They observed that information on available opportunities often remains fragmented and disconnected from the communities that need it most.
The leaders therefore committed to:
- Serve as District Youth Opportunity Champions and Agents of Development, identifying, mapping and documenting scholarships, grants, innovation challenges, internships, employment, financing and training opportunities available to young people in their districts.
- Identify and profile young innovators and local innovations, including community-led solutions, technologies and enterprises, and link them to the National Youth Opportunity and Innovation Hub, opportunity providers and potential partners.
- Identify and document entrepreneurship challenges facing young business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, including barriers to finance, markets, skills and mentorship, and relay them to relevant institutions for action.
- Serve as district-level points of contact and coordinators for the National Youth Opportunity and Innovation Hub, strengthening links between young people, local institutions and the national platform.
- Systematically report opportunities, innovators, innovations, entrepreneurship challenges, emerging youth priorities and community feedback to the National Youth Opportunity and Innovation Hub.
- Promote innovation, research, entrepreneurship, skills development and responsible youth leadership.
- Ensure that the voices, priorities and innovations of young people reach decision-makers and opportunity providers and are translated into concrete district-level action.
- Promote inclusion by ensuring that young people in underserved and rural communities, persons with disabilities and youth in refugee-hosting districts are not left behind.
