South African companies seeking trade opportunities in Uganda have expressed satisfaction with progress made in the East African country.
Local companies in the agro-processing, capital equipment, energy and furniture sectors are participating in the current Outward Trade and Investment Mission (OTIM) through the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).
The mission is organised and funded by the dti through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance Scheme (EMIA).
The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services and to recruit new foreign direct investment into the country.
Operations Manager of Agizo Solutions Lerato Mamabolo said she was impressed by the high degree of interest the mission has generated amongst Ugandan businesspeople.
“The interest that has been shown by the Ugandans in doing business with South Africa has been remarkable. They did not only come in large numbers but they showed that that they did their research well as they knew exactly who they wanted to meet amongst us, what we are offering and what they wanted.
“That made business-to-business meetings very productive and fruitful,” she said on Wednesday.
The 25-member delegation arrived in the capital Kampala on Sunday and will continue searching for trade and investment opportunities the East African country until Friday.
The OTIM programme has included business-to-business meetings as well as a seminar that was held on Tuesday.
Owner of Aquaculture Innovations Leslie Ter Morshuizen said the mission has opened up various business leads.
“I came here thinking if I got one lead which would result in us building a fish farm for a client - that would be a great achievement. But here I am, sitting with numerous leads that look like they will end up in us building several fish farms around here.
“I also managed to get a number of other clients who were interested in our equipment and training services. I am really impressed with the progress we are making,” said Ter Morshuizen.
Director of Rural Integrated Engineering Chris Stimie said he learnt a lot about the business environment in Uganda from the presentations and discussions at the business seminar.
On Thursday and Friday, the delegation will conduct site visits to various companies around Kampala related to their sectors before heading back home. – SAnews.gov.za
