10th Edition of CEO Forum a Success
On 1stAugust 2019, CEO Summit successfully held the 10thedition of its premier annual event, CEO Forum.
The Annual CEO Forum brings together the region’s best business and industry minds to engage with thought leaders, public sector practitioners, development actors and each other with the purpose of engendering insights into- and influencing and implementing solutions to – business and industry challenges and hindrances to economic growth.
We were joined by over 200 of Uganda’s most influential CEOs, business experts and industry heads as we engaged in discussions and strategy under the theme titled “Business Growth in a Volatile Economy: Facts or Myths.”
We kicked off the Forum with presentations from CEO Forum 2019 sponsors Isuzu Uganda and dfcu Bank.
In his presentation titled, “Innovation in the 21stCentury: Shared Value in Corporate Uganda”, Head of Tender Sales at Isuzu Uganda, Mr. Douglas Kawalya, emphasized the importance of businesses understanding their customers’ and clients’ lifestyle as a way of staying relevant for the long run.
“In order to continue to remain relevant in an ever-changing landscape, businesses will have to understand their customers and clients’ organisations and lifestyles, anticipate their needs and offer 360-degree solutions that empower them,” he said.
On the other hand, dfcu bank CEO, Mr. Mathias Katanga, highlighted the opportunity for digital in a country with one of the world’s youngest population and an informal sector with a big potential for growth in his presentation titled, “Leveraging Technology for Inclusive Financial Sector.”
“According to the latest statistics, only 11% of adults are using financial services from banks. Of these, 73% prefer to use bank branches, 4% prefer ATMs , 12% use mobile phones while only 2% use the internet. When it comes to services, 52% of people use banks for savings and only 11% for credit. Looking at behaviour, the most positive thing is that 90% of Ugandans are prepared to learn and use new technology,” he said.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the day came from CEO Summit 2019 Keynote Speaker and MD of Guinness Nigeria PLC, Mr. Baker Magunda who gave a powerful keynote titled, “Business Growth in a Volatile Economy: Facts or Myths.”
“East Africa is currently winning. When you look at the data, East Africa is growing at twice the rate of West African businesses and certainly doing better than many in Southern Africa. At the moment, we are averaging 6.1% growth rate. But what is the current discussion that we should be having to position ourselves in a way that enables us to continue growing?” he asked during his speech.
The keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion on the day’s theme and Mr. Magunda’s keynote, as well as a Q and A session. The panel featured some of the brightest and most experienced minds in industry and business leaders including: Japheth Kawanguzi, Country Team Leader of The Innovation Village Kampala, Prof. Pamela Mbabazi Kasabiiti, Chairperson, National Planning Authority, Dr. George Njenga, Executive Dean of Strathmore Business School(SBS), Mr.Earnest N. Rubondo, Executive Director, Petroleum Authority Uganda
Ms.Clara Mira, Uganda Resident Representative, IMFand Mr.Michael Segwaya, Executive Director, Barclays Bank.
By all accounts a memorable, engaging and relevant event, the 10thedition of the CEO Summit came to an end with a vote of thanks from Dr. Maggie Kigozi.
We would like to thank all the CEOs who attended, our panelists, speakers, keynote speaker and everyone who made this year’s event a success.
