Women entrepreneurs were on Saturday, May 25, 2024, given tips on how to advance their careers in the corporate and business world during the “She Rise Summit” held at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala.
The “She Rise Summit”, the first of its kind, was organised by Marjorine Nantambi, a corporate consultant and personal finance coach, and Audrey Tumwine, a financial adviser.
“She Rise Summit is a summit that puts together women in the corporate and business world. We have put together amazing ladies from across Africa and beyond who are going to be sharing their success stories on how they have gone up the corporate ladder, built multinational businesses and achieved all this with life, family and all the other responsibilities,” Nantambi told SoftPower News.
She said the summit brought together women in the corporate and business world to share tips.
“It is an empowerment programme that brings together women who have succeeded in speaking to the young women about the tools and strategies.”
She said, that during the summit, a number of challenges were identified and tackled, especially the issue of start-up capital which cuts across.
“Start-up capital is a problem that cuts across. It’s not just about the money. It is very important to create networks because social capital is actually more important than financial capital for someone who is starting up,” she noted.
She added: “We have also seen that there are many opportunities for women out there in terms of funding but maybe we have not explored them yet. In the discussions today, we have learnt about some of the places that women can go to for financial support.”
On her part, Tumwine who helps organisations and individuals manage their money better, said most of the challenges arise out of a knowledge gap.
“We have not been trained well enough as business owners,” said Tumwine who helps working women with accountability support to achieve their financial goals and manage their money better.
When asked about the challenges posed by taxes, Tumwine said women entrepreneurs need more sensitization on how to, for example, file for zero returns in the event that they don’t make profits so that they are not at the mercy of tax officials.
“We also need the tax authorities to understand the businesses they are taxing. For example, when you levy the presumptive tax, you are actually hurting a business owner that is at the start,” she stated.
According to her, the summit targeted 100 women but got about 120 women.
“Most of our conversations were structured around skilling, running a profitable business and actually understanding the business side of any business. When it comes to business, most entrepreneurs only focus on the idea and neglect the money-making side of the business.”
She added: “Through this summit, we hope that they will be able to run their businesses better and also build businesses that outlive them.”
According to the coordinator of the summit, Angella Marybeth Muhumuza, when it comes to innovation among women, first of all, it starts with being in spaces like this.
“Listening to people’s experiences and understanding what they have gone through, your mind really opens up,” said Muhumuza who is also a customer care coach.
She said there is personal development in terms of reading a lot more and researching and that most of the speakers highlighted this.
“This is the first year and launch of the summit. It will be a platform to continuously support women to grow in business. It will empower women to thrive and succeed in their business and how to grow a profitable business,” she noted.
