The acclaimed Stanbic Bank Uganda annual National Schools’ Championship (NSC) is back, and participants have up to March 8, 2022 to submit their business idea entries to stand a chance of winning grand prizes worth over UGX60million.

At least 60, 000 students from more than 100 Ugandan secondary schools are expected to participate in the months’ long grueling enterprise challenge that will climax in October with outstanding business ideas standing a chance of being linked to investors on top of winning expensive prizes from the bank.

Now in its seventh year, the 2022 NSC is running under the theme ‘Empowering the Job Creators of Tomorrow’ and will encourage participants to pitch especially climate smart business ideas in line with Stanbic Bank Uganda’s sustainability strategy.

“We are empowering job creators of tomorrow, but we also want to see them address global challenges such as climate change---that way, we can count on a generation of entrepreneurs that appreciate the importance of doing the right business, the right way,” said Cathy Adengo, Head of Business Sustainability at Stanbic Bank Uganda.

Launched in 2016, the NSC has registered growth each year from 32 schools participating in the inaugural year to over 100 (since 2020) with over 600 student business ideas generated.

At least 200 businesses have since been set up from the ideas submitted---90 of the 187 actively running student-led enterprises have received capital grants from the championship investor-relations initiatives that help link bankable ideas to financing.

Four-tier competition

The Stanbic National Schools Championship is a four-tier competition involving new schools (Startup Challenge); schools with existing businesses BizGrow Challenge); alumni (AlumGrow Challenge) and teachers (TeachGrow Challenge).

Participating students will have to compete in several qualifying rounds, including attending a boot-camp after which a winner is identified at a grand finale in September.

In the bootcamp, participants are taught different skills including business plan development, product development, customer care, communication skills, branding and marketing.

Elve Nshuti, 20-year-old alumni of the programme said, “I’ve been exposed to a variety of opportunities since my participation in the competition. Last year, I was able to win Ugx1.5million capital to invest in my tech company I-Tech Africa.

I’ve gained more exposure equitably to customers through the championship. I’ve learned to be responsible and empowered, valuing collaboration over division and long-term gain over short-term gain because this is how my future will be bright.”

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed, with costs to the respondents, an appeal by Bank of Uganda against businessman Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia and Meera Investments, the real estate arm of the Ruparelia Group, bringing to end a five year litigation battle between the businessman and the central bank.

The five justices of Supreme Court including Rubby Opio Aweri, Percy Tuhaise, Ezekiel Muhanguzi,Prof. Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza and Faith Mwondha also ordered that the management of Crane Bank (in receivership) be returned to its shareholders, the original owners.

Now, in an interview with Spy Uganda, a local online news website, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia has lamented that Bank of Uganda actions to close Crane Bank and allegation of mismanaging the bank he founded injured his reputation as a businessman.

"I made heavy losses because of Bank of Uganda. My reputation as a businessman was destroyed. I have never failed any business. Bank of Uganda killed my career when they said I had failed my own business, Crane Bank. That has a bearing especially with my business partners,"

He added: "I told you from the beginning that Bank of Uganda stole my bank. I thank the judiciary for not shielding such dubious games. They have to pay costs of the suit right from the commercial court to the Supreme Court,"

When Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia lost Crane Bank over alleged mismanagement, by law, it meant that he cannot open or directly run another financial institution. In fact, because of that, he also lost his forex bureaus.  This, he says, is not good for his name and business.

The news of Bank of Uganda taking over management and closing down of Crane Bank Limited trekked into public spaces timidly in the third quarter of 2016. Ruparelia Group, the proprietor and highest shareholder of Crane Bank, issued public denials describing such talk as false and a rumour.

Bank of Uganda, the regulator of the banking industry also offered support to Ruparelia Group when the then governor of the central bank Emmanuel Tumusime-Mutebile (now deceased) issued a press statement saying Crane Bank was safe.

"It has been brought to our attention that messages have been circulating on WhatsApp instructing depositors to withdraw their money from Crane Bank within the next week. We wish to categorically state that these messages were not issued by Bank of Uganda,” Mutebile said.

The rumour persisted and indeed, on 20th October 2016, the Bank of Uganda took over the management of Crane Bank, the commercial bank which had been started in 1994 by businessman Sudhir Ruparelia, the chairman of Ruparelia Group, for being significantly under-capitalised.

In the statement signed by governor Mutebile, the Bank of Uganda said Crane bank posed a systemic risk to the stability of the financial system and the continuation of the bank’s activities was detrimental to the interests of its depositors.

Mutebile then appointed a statutory manager, Edward Katimbo Mugwanya, to run the bank and suspended the board of directors of the bank. He was quick to assure depositors that their money was safe as the bank would continue to operate under the Mugwanya management.

That a week ago before the takeover of the Crane Bank, the central bank was denying that Crane Bank was vulnerable perturbed the public. Just about a year before, Crane Bank had been voted the best bank in Uganda by the UK based Financial Times Publishers and organizers of the Banker’s Magazine, an accolade they had previously won numerous times.

The takeover of Crane Bank by the Bank of Uganda sparked off bad blood between the two institutions that led to a historical court battle that only arrived at its end five years later, in 2022 with the central bank on the losing side at the Supreme Court directed that it pays costs and reverts Crane Bank to its shareholders.

So many things happened in the five years including a parliamentary inquiry by the Parliamentary committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) that investigated the closure of seven banks by the Bank of Uganda.

Under the chairpersonship of Abdul Katuntu (MP Bugweri County), COSASE filed a report that faulted the central bank for not falling the laws, corruption, intrigue and other misdemeanours when causing the closure of not only Crane Bank but also other six banks.

The other banks included Teefe Trust Bank LImited, International Credit Bank Limited, Co-operative Bank Limited, Greenland Bank Limited, National Bank of Commerce and Global Trust Bank (U) Limited. The Auditor General Report on which the COSASE investigation was based highlighted broad corruption, misappropriation of funds by the Bank of Uganda and illegal closure of commercial banks.

But before the COSASE inquiry, the takeover of Crane Bank by Bank of Uganda had been marred by irregularities including the fraudulent manner in which the central bank sold Crane Bank assets to dfcu Bank via a phone call instead of the standard and statutory open bidding.

At the helm of causing the closure of Crane Bank, National Bank of Commerce and Global Trust Bank (U) Limited was Dr Luis Kasekende, the then deputy governor and Justine Bagyende the executive director supervision. In various reports, these were held accountable personally.

And as the Crane Bank – Bank of Uganda comes to an end, the central bank as the regulator of the financial sector is left with an egged face with a lot of work to do to bring its house in order and gain not only public trust but also from the financial institutions it regulates. 

A new real estate sector report compiled by Stanbic Properties Uganda Limited, a subsidiary of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited, as at the end of December last year, indicates that average occupancy from surveyed buildings was recorded at 89% for Grade A, 83% for Grade B and 74% for Grade C buildings.

The report says that the prevailing median rents were recorded at US$15, US$11 and US$8/m² /month for Grade A, B and C buildings respectively exclusive of service charge.

Released on Feb.09 at a press conference held in Kampala, the report says, market evidence indicated more demand for the newer Grade A office buildings that feature large – open layout floors and state-of-the-art design and safety characteristics is emanating from companies in the oil and gas, financial services, government parastatals and engineering sectors.

Spencer Sabiiti Oyes, the Chief Executive of SPL said, “the key firms/companies that stimulated this trend are those that had previously been leasing smaller spaces in lower-tier Grade B multiple buildings because the market never provided ample opportunities to consolidate their operations in a single building.”

Other key demand drivers, according to the report included exclusiveness of the stand-alone Grade A office structures evidenced by an increase in enquiries away from multi-tenanted office buildings to take advantage of branding and fully control their security requirements.

Furthermore, demand for space in the lower tier Grade B and C buildings whose rents are low was dominated by start-ups as well as small and medium enterprises.

Sabiiti said, they also noticed several non-governmental organisations scaling down on their rental space by consolidating their operations in single stand-alone formerly residential buildings as opposed to renting several buildings particularly in areas of Bugolobi, Muyenga and Naguru.

This trend was primarily driven by downsizing due to COVID19 related budgetary constraints faced by foreign funders as well as a growing work from home trend for employees who only use formal office workspaces on an as-needed basis.

In terms of pipeline, the completion of buildings currently under construction will add approximately 36,000 m² of lettable space to the existing stock by the end of 2023.

It is anticipated that Grade A space will account for 90% of the pipeline developments, according to the report.

Retail property market

The formal retail sector was traditionally concentrated in Kampala’s central business district and a few high-end residential areas in the peripherals particularly Naalya, Lubowa and Entebbe.

However, the report says, the growth of Kampala’s prime retail sector has spilled over into the sub-urban areas of Wakiso district where the retail sector is experiencing a fundamental transformation through improved quality and standards.

“As of December 2021, we observed an increasing trend towards the development of formal super and hypermarkets as well as shopping malls in Sub-urban suburbs in Wakiso and Mukono districts,” Sabiiti said.

This trend is being driven primarily by the increasing purchasing power of the working-class, who predominantly reside in these areas. 

Additionally, the COVID-19 related movement restrictions also forced consumers to increase their retail expenditure within their immediate residential neighbourhood.

The retail sector in Kampala is more vibrant compared to the metropolitan areas of Wakiso and Mukono.

That said, findings from the survey revealed that Kampala’s prime retail malls were facing stiff competition from locally owned suburban shopping centres in Wakiso district whose market was majorly supported by a higher domestic consumption by the middle-class.

The highest rental rates were registered in prime malls where tenants pay between US$22 to US$27/m 2 /month for prime retail space on the lower floors and between US$12 to 16$/m 2 /month for large space occupiers on similar floors.

“We expect openings of new retail stores and expansion of existing retail stores to remain stagnant or very limited as retailers acclimatise to the post COVID19 retail environment in the near future,” Sabiiti said.

This is mainly due to the fact that COVID19 related restrictions have forced consumers to adopt online retail, a tendency that is likely to stabilise and continue.