BUBU Trade Show: Entrepreneurs decry UNBS certification hurdles

MBARARA CITY, July 30, 2025 – The inaugural Buy Uganda Build Uganda [BUBU] Regional Trade Show, which concluded over the weekend in Mbarara City, showcased a vibrant array of local innovations. However, beneath the lively exhibitions, a familiar frustration simmered among entrepreneurs, Uganda National Bureau of Standards [ UNBS ] product certification hurdles.

Julius Bigabwa, proprietor of Big Lad Agro-Tourism Farm in Fort Portal City and a pioneer in Uganda’s emerging macadamia industry, voiced a widely shared concern over what he described as “double certification” by UNBS, a policy he fears is driving entrepreneurs out of business.

Bigabwa’s agro-ecological farm produces a variety of premium macadamia-based products, including edible nuts, oil [with a litre retailing at a remarkable Shs 100,000 due to its health benefits], rich macadamia butter, organic cosmetics, milk, and honey. “Macadamia is an expensive crop, and so are all its products,” he remarked, underlining the crop’s significant potential in Uganda.

Despite his progress in production and value addition, Bigabwa cited UNBS certification as his biggest challenge. “We use one raw material, the macadamia nut, to derive all these different products,” he explained. “But UNBS only certifies one product at a time. Why should I get separate certifications for oil, butter, milk, and cosmetics when they all come from the same nut?”

He also criticised what he sees as unequal enforcement by UNBS. “As soon as someone begins packaging a product, UNBS steps in. My macadamia butter is no different from pounded groundnuts, which are sold unpackaged by street vendors. Yet when we package ours and put it in supermarkets, UNBS confiscates it.”

Calling for a temporary exemption for small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs], Bigabwa highlighted the prohibitive costs. “We are already incurring high costs through packaging, branding, and employing educated personnel. The application for a UNBS quality mark alone is Shs 500,000, and testing can cost about Shs 900,000. Altogether, you need approximately Shs 3 million. How is a startup entrepreneur with just one million shillings expected to afford this?”

The limited presence of UNBS regional offices further compounds the issue. “UNBS has no office in the Tooro region,” he noted. “We have to travel to Mbarara, and for microbial and nutritional tests, we still have to go all the way to Kampala. It’s extremely costly.”

UNBS responds

Ivan Mugume, UNBS Customer Care Officer, responded to these concerns by clarifying the certification process. “We certify each product based on its specific standard. Even if the raw material is the same, the processes and end results differ. Therefore, each final product must be certified individually.”

Mugume emphasised the importance of consumer safety. “A pure cosmetic and a perfumed one are two distinct products. Some individuals are allergic to perfumes. If we certified them as the same product, it would be illegal and UNBS would be liable.” He added that the bureau considers ingredients, processing, and packaging to ensure public health and product quality.

Local leaders weigh in

Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi, Mayor of Mbarara City, praised the Ministry of Trade for bringing the BUBU Expo to the western region. He urged local producers to focus on building networks and marketing strategies rather than merely seeking quick sales.

He encouraged manufacturers to form cooperatives to facilitate bulking, marketing, and easier access to government support.

Justus Katusiime, an entrepreneur from Mitooma District, expressed frustration over the government’s slow efforts to revitalise traditional cooperatives. He urged the Ministry of Local Government to integrate economic empowerment initiatives like the Parish Development Model [PDM] within existing cooperative frameworks.

“The government does have the will to revive traditional cooperatives, as stated in the NRM manifesto,” Katusiime said, “but there is a lack of sufficient information about them.” He cited pioneers such as Keith Kabacenga, founder of the Banyankole Kweterana Cooperative Union in 1958, as early champions of value addition and industrialisation.

Government response and commitments

The Expo was officially opened by Mbadi Mbasu Wilson, Minister of State for Trade, who echoed the Mayor Kakyebezi’s call for collective effort among micro, small, and medium enterprises [MSMEs]. “Recently, I was in Indonesia and found they have 69 million MSMEs. Here, we prefer working as individuals, which is why we face so many challenges,” he noted.

Wilson pointed out that MSMEs make up 90 percent of Uganda’s private sector and employ approximately 2.5 million people, mostly youth and women. “When MSMEs are organised, it becomes easier for the government to support them.”

Acknowledging the sector’s challenges, including poor compliance with standards, limited access to financing, and outdated production technologies, the Minister outlined several interventions: setting up regional UNBS laboratories, providing value addition equipment, and capitalising the Uganda Development Bank, among others.

He reiterated that compliance with standards is key to accessing both local and international markets. “The Japanese are very particular about standards,” he said. “Those claiming to have products but no market need to first work on meeting these standards. UNBS certification is part of your investment.”

Highlighting Uganda’s growing trade potential, Wilson noted access to vast regional markets: East African Community [300 million people], COMESA [670 million], and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area [1.4 billion]. “We have the market and the products. What remains is compliance with standards.”

He encouraged MSMEs to unite in cooperatives to address supply scale issues. “Accessing the market is one thing; sustaining it is another. Can you meet demand as an individual? Or do you need a cooperative to produce in volume?”

According to the Microeconomics and Fiscal Performance Report for Financial Year 2023–24, Uganda’s trade performance has improved steadily, with total exports rising from US$ 4.4 billion in 2020 to US$ 8.5 billion in 2024. Trade now contributes 43 percent to GDP, with a target of 50 percent. The BUBU policy has significantly improved domestic market access, with local products occupying 56 percent of supermarket shelf space, up from 20 percent in 2015. Government procurement of local goods has also increased to 60 percent from the previous target of 20 percent.

Wilson also noted the expansion of local manufacturing under the BUBU initiative, including the establishment of 82 bottled water factories, 209 sanitiser plants, as well as new steel rolling mills and producers of tiles and cement, contributing to a reduction in Uganda’s trade deficit.

“Through BUBU, we can further enhance trade performance and competitiveness by supporting MSMEs in key sectors like coffee, tea, fish, maize, sugar, fruits, vegetables, and horticulture for export,” the Minister concluded. “I urge you to take advantage of expos like this to engage the government and promote our own products. Focus on standards to thrive. Let’s walk the talk.”

https://thecooperator.news/minister-mbadi-urges-local-producers-to-prioritise-product-certification/

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