Under its Women In Business (WIB) Initiative launched in March 2021, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) & Grooming a Successful Woman with Intellectual Mind (GSWIM) have this afternoon closed a two-day hybrid national workshop on “Women Entrepreneurs: Intellectual Property for Branding and Product Development” held at Hotel Africana in Kampala.
The workshop organized by WIPO in partnership with URSB & GSWIM was attended by 20 women entrepreneurs. The training focused on arming participants with the knowledge and information needed to develop their business ideas into concrete plans, in addition to registering and trademarking their businesses. Participants also received personalized coaching on branding, product development and guidance on how to position their businesses for the market.
Speaking at the workshop, Duong Chi Dung, Director, Division for the Least Developed Countries, WIPO tasked the women entrepreneurs to use the skills acquired to grow their brands. He reiterated the commitment of WIPO to support training of more budding entrepreneurs. ‘WIPO will assist female-led businesses to use intellectual property to become more innovative and enhance their productive capacity and competitiveness. We plan on more such trainings to support skills development’ Duong Chi added.
URSB’s Board Secretary, Caroline Egesa who represented the Registrar General thanked the partners for looking out for women entrepreneurs who hold a significant percentage of economic activity through ownership of micro, small & medium enterprises in various sectors. ‘I am delighted that WIPO & GSWIM have collaborated with URSB to organize this workshop. Disseminating intellectual property information is key to women entrepreneurs such that they do not lag behind in the market. The 2019 MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) ranks Uganda first in Africa at 38.2% of total business owners. This suggests that in these economies, women are becoming as inclined as men to engage in entrepreneurship. URSB will support you to nurture, grow, commercialise and protect your businesses’ She said.
On his part, James Wasula, the Chairman of GSWIM said their organization has a well-crafted plan to skill and groom women entrepreneurs. “Our strategic approach is centered on mentorship, branding and product development. These will enable the women to launch themselves and their products successfully and irreversibly into the marketplace to grow and win over clients’’ Wasula said
The training gave participants the opportunity to exchange experiences and promote their products, discuss the benefits of intellectual property for entrepreneurs, how to build brands for enhanced market value, development and use of IP strategies, trademark and industrial design registration process among others.
This workshop targeted women entrepreneurs involved in sectors such as cloth making, detergents, confectionery, hand crafts, bottled beverages and beauty care products from across the country and representatives of businesswomen associations, representatives of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association (UWEAL) and the Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA).