GrowthPartners Uganda
Accelerating SME growth across Uganda through business development support standards
BDS Standards
The Business Development Standards (BDS) drafted have been informed by international best practice BDS delivery, standard expertise and the local Ugandan context. To uphold a consultative and participatory manner to the development of BDS standards, a technical working group was set up in order to fully consider the views and perspectives of key actors in the MSME Ecosystem in Uganda. This multi-sector working group included eminent business, industry, academia, and public sector representatives in Uganda’s MSME development ecosystem, from institutions such as:
- Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives
- Mastercard Foundation
- Enterprise Uganda
- Uganda National Bureau of Standards
- Business Development Service Providers’ Network
- Makerere University Business School (MUBS)
- Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
- Institute of Corporate Governance
- Uganda Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative (UEEI)/ANDE
Two foundational BDS standards were produced:
i) BDS Provider internal capacity guidelines
The first standard focuses on competency and internal capacity for the BDS providers, to address weak management practices within BDS provider organisations and poor investability of BDS organisations. This standard will focus on areas such as:
- Leadership
- Planning
- Operations
- Resource Management
ii) BDS service delivery guidelines
This standard focuses on service delivery to provide guidelines for the effective delivery of Business Development Services to an MSME, addressing poor quality of BDS provision with gaps such as contextualisation, segmentation, specialisation among others. The standard focuses on guiding principles in key areas such as:
- Leadership
- Planning
- Operations
- Talent / People
- Money
Learn more and apply to the BDS standards training programme for individuals, companies and associations offering business development support services in Uganda.
Uganda’s Business Development Services market has a larger focus on the capital, Kampala and a few regional hubs, leading to a disproportionate market with gaps. With few providers and lack of tailored services to meet the needs of rural enterprises, the market can face challenges such as:
Inability to afford BDS services
Ineffective market for promotion of BDS services
Limited outreach of BDS service providers to enterprises
As a result, MSMEs can struggle to invest funds into BDS, leading to further hampering development of the BDS market. Although a number of programmes have been implemented to support the development of the BDS market in Uganda, the challenges of BDS service provision and the lack of approved standards for BDS service providers persist.
To address challenges faced by MSMEs in accessing business development services (BDS), the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and AMI, in partnership with MasterCard Foundation, have collaborated to develop national BDS standards and offer business development service providers with training to increase their capacity to serve MSMEs.
We know that investing in high-quality BDS can accelerate MSME growth and create jobs. BDS services and providers compliant with world-class standards and research can spark meaningful change for Ugandan MSMEs, such as increase in MSME performance, preservation and creation of jobs, and improved livelihoods. BDS providers can also experience benefits such as:
Sharpened skills through standards dissemination and training
Improved income opportunities
Quality standardized services that MSMEs are willing to pay for
About the Partnership
The Private Sector Foundation of Uganda (PSFU), with the support of the Mastercard Foundation have partnered with the African Management Institute (AMI), to develop standards for the provision of Business Development Services (BDS) in Uganda. This will offer business development service providers with training to increase their capacity to serve MSMEs.