By Abubaker Mayemba
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Employment Services Bureau (ESB) recently trained 52 youths from the slums of Kisenyi and Bwaise in entrepreneurship and marketing skills.  The training was part of the Strengthening Social Cohesion and Stability in Slum Populations (SSCoS) project, fully funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF).
The trainees were selected from among hundreds of youths who received business and vocational training at institutes run by the Action for Fundamental Change and Development (AFFCAD) in the slums of Kisenyi and Bwaise. After their graduation, the youths had also received small business start-up kits.
The three-day training, held at the ESB offices in Kampala, tackled skills such as personal branding, enterprise management, and taxation and business registration.
Implemented in the slums of Bwaise, Kisenyi, Katwe and Kabalagala, the SSCoS project aims to address the root causes of radicalization and intercommunal conflict.  Among other objectives, SSCoS seeks to empower youth through mentorship, vocational skills, as well as financial support to start/grow their businesses. 
Wilberforce Waliggo, an ESB business expert, underscored the importance of book-keeping, urging the youths to always record all sales and other transactions.
“How will you know how much tax you will be required to pay if you don’t do book keeping? Recording your business transactions helps you plan and if you have been doing it, your business will grow faster because you have been monitoring its progress. But if you don’t keep books, it will be very hard and your business might close unexpectedly,” said Waliggo, further advising trainees to learn from experiences of successful entrepreneurs who started small.
The trainees were further guided on how to register with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB). Being registered and tax-compliant, they heard, would help grow their businesses as some clients shun non-registered entities. 

Renowned fashion designer Allen Njola Nabukenya of Njola Impressions, who makes footwear and bags from old tires and polythene material, urged participants to position themselves better to beat off competition from others. For young entrepreneurs to stand out, they needed to find something unique and relentlessly market it on various platforms.
“Competition has now reached a stage where only the innovative succeed; you should strive to make sure that your products and services stand out from the rest,” Nabukenya told the youths, who have ventured into tailoring, carpentry, graphic designing, motor vehicle engineering, among others. “Market your products via social media, you never know who might be interested.”
In her closing remarks SSCoS Project Manager Sahra Farah advised the trainees to be consistent in their transactions and handle every client with maximum respect. Farah also advised them to always be the early bird that catches the worm, and to share the knowledge learnt from the training with colleagues back in the slums.
“I have been working with young people on the SSCoS project since 2016 and some beneficiaries have gone on to do business and are excelling. Although some are struggling, we are happy that this project is keeping young people out of trouble,” Ms Farah said.
Since the beginning of the SSCoS project, IOM, in line with its objectives, has sought to tackle the root causes of inter communal conflict in slums by addressing sources of grievances and by strengthening community cohesion around shared development assets.  Working with the KCCA ESB, IOM will support 60 Vocational training graduates with mentorship for small business as well as advice on linkages to possible job placements, internships and short-term employment opportunities.