Ex-combatants and small and medium businesses in the Gulu district of Northern Uganda say they are interested in computer training, following the establishment of District Business Information Centres (DBICs) to assist small and medium-size enterprises (SMBs) in accessing relevant market information over the Internet.
The Acholi Private Sector Development Company (APSEDC) is running the DBIC. The agency, as part of a plan for the social rehabilitation of ex-combatants, has used word of mouth and radio to advertise the center, which opened two months ago.
APSEDC Chief Executive Officer Nelson Tasenga said it was important for ex-combatants to be integrated into the community because most of them came back from the bush with nothing.
“Most of the ex-combatants have been completely neglected by the society while some of them did not join the Lords Resistance Army [LRA] willingly, but were abducted and escaped back to the community,” said Tasenga
Anaka Youth Development Association Chairperson Okutu Kassim is an ex-combatant who is accessing services from the DBIC in Gulu. He said that he was interested in computer training because he had already been trained in how to set up a bakery, and in the future he wants to use computers to find materials and establish a market for his products.
Speaking in the Acholi language, Kassim said he did not go far in school because he was abducted by the LRA when he was 12 years old and trained as a child soldier.
“After two years in the bush I escaped and came back to continue my education but only went to primary 7 and could not continue because of lack of sponsorship,” said Kassim.
He confessed that at the moment he could not afford to pay fees at the DBIC, which is charging about US$20 dollars per course, but that he is being sponsored by the Anaka Youth Development Association to do the course.
Kassim, who says he does not know how to speak and write English very well, said he has started learning Microsoft Word but that there is a need for the DBIC to simplify relevant information for people who are illiterate.
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Industrial Development Officer Barbara Kreissler said the DBIC initiative was set up by the U.N. agency to drive the growth and competitiveness of SMBs, which are often hampered by a lack of technical training, business advisory services and access to relevant hardware and software.
Kreissler said UNIDO is implementing the DBIC program in Uganda to provide integrated business information solutions to SMBs on a demand-driven basis to help their development. She said eight centers have been established in various districts throughout rural Uganda.
She added that they will soon roll out DBICs to other African countries now that the Uganda pilot project is under way. She noted that the Ugandan government has been very supportive of the project and has plans to set up 20 DBIC model centers.
Ugandan Minister of ICT Ham Murila, however, said that this financial year they will only open up five DBICs.
“An important focus of the DBICs is on income-generation by the SME business community through the provision of sustainable services such as ICT training and entrepreneurship development. DBICs offer entrepreneurs tailored training, fast and reliable access to the Internet to improve their efficiency and day-to-day business activities, and work closely with the Uganda Green Computer Company to provide access to hardware,” explained Kreissler.
Sean Nicholison, manager of Emerging Solutions and Refurbishment for Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group, said the company’s support of the centers was focused on developing relevant ICT-related services and training for the rural business community. It is also helping to push awareness building of the benefits of ICT tools via its Digital Literacy program and SMB-relevant training materials.
At the Jinga DBIC, Business Information Officer Humphrey Mutaasa said he is working with the Bamugande disability group, which includes people in fish farming and mushroom producing.
It is necessary for the group to get computer training because people with disabilities do not want to be left behind in the modern world, according Bamugande Chairperson Harriet Kawuma.
Aida Mulungwa, the production manager for a group of mushroom producers, said she had been cheated when she set up a mushroom facility with other people in the past. The DBIC, however, has helped her access information on how to construct a mushroom facility.
