At least 312 small businesses benefited from the Matching Grants Facility (MGF), a component of the Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP), which is a Government of Uganda and World Bank funded. The project was launched in 2014 and coordinated by Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).
The MGF aimed at improving the capacity, enhancing productivity and competitiveness of enterprises in Uganda. The
grant enabled enterprises to address firm-level constraints that inhibit productivity, growth and competitiveness.
Micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) accessed matched grants over up to 50% for the purpose.
In Uganda, the low productivity and competitiveness are linked to lack of management skills, poor financial management systems, and inadequate market information among MSMEs. Stephen Asiimwe, the Chief Executive Officer of PSFU, says CEDP was designed to address some of these sector specific challenges to help enterprises become competitive.
“PSFU was delegated to be the implementing partner of this project, largely because it is the apex body of the Uganda private sector.” Download Supplement