Writes Brian Mugenyi
Kampala: Union Transport Alliance (UNION) and the United Informal Sector Forum (UISF) on Friday entered a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Uganda’s informal economy under the theme “Tuliwamu — Building Uganda’s Invisible Economy Together.”
The partnership was launched at Hotel Africana in Kampala, bringing together representatives from 18 informal-sector categories, UNION leadership, stakeholders and the media.
The collaboration seeks to connect UISF’s diverse membership to UNION’s expanding product ecosystem, not only as consumers, but also as distributors, retailers and income-generating participants.
Uganda’s informal economy comprises millions of entrepreneurs, traders, producers and service providers who generate income, create employment, provide goods and services, and sustain families and communities.
The sector is described as an “invisible economy” not because it lacks economic value, but because much of its contribution remains outside formal systems and conventional economic structures.
Through the partnership, traders, retailers, salon operators, restaurant owners, casual workers and other informal businesses will have opportunities to access products, markets and commercial opportunities through the UNION network.
The initiative seeks to make informal economic activity more organised, connected, productive and visible to opportunity.
Digital market place
A key component of the partnership is digital commerce.
The recently launched Union Online Duuka is expected to strengthen the relationship by creating a digital marketplace connecting consumers, businesses and products.
For UISF members, the platform provides an opportunity to access digital markets and new sales and distribution channels.
For UNION, the partnership expands its network beyond transport operators to a wider community of entrepreneurs and customers operating across Uganda’s informal economy.
The organisations say the objective is to create a commercial ecosystem in which informal-sector players can participate at different points of the value chain.
A trader can become a retailer.
A retailer can become a distributor.
A transporter can support delivery.
And a consumer can become part of the same marketplace.
Ssenoga appointed Product Advisor
As part of the partnership, UNION Chief Executive Officer Mr Fred Ssenoga has been appointed Product Advisor to UISF.
The appointment is intended to strengthen UISF’s ability to identify, develop and connect its members to products and services that respond to their economic realities.
It is also expected to bridge UNION’s experience working with transport workers and the wider needs of Uganda’s informal sector.
The organisers say the ultimate ambition is to build stronger businesses, increase household incomes and create more resilient communities by connecting informal businesses to markets and commercial opportunities.
The partnership is being positioned as a collective effort to transform Uganda’s informal economy from a collection of largely disconnected activities into a more organised economic network.
Under “Tuliwamu,” meaning together, UNION and UISF are seeking to demonstrate that the strength of Uganda’s informal economy may lie not only in the millions of people participating in it, but in what those people can achieve when connected through common markets, products and opportunities.
The informal economy may be invisible in conventional systems, but its economic footprint is already impossible to ignore.
