BDS Champion in Uganda: Growth of a local BDS operation to Transform 300+ Businesses

Before joining African Management Institute (AMI) in 2023, Jane Namara was already working closely with SMEs and MSMEs across Uganda, helping entrepreneurs strengthen and grow their businesses. She had built strong experience in the field, but delivering support at scale remained a challenge.

Without structured business development tools and systems, much of her work relied on manual planning, making delivery time-consuming and difficult to replicate consistently. At the same time, gaps in proposal development limited her ability to secure larger funding opportunities that could expand her reach.

That changed when Jane participated in AMI's Business Development Service (BDS) provider training. Through practical, research-backed tools and frameworks, she strengthened her approach to business diagnostics, financial planning, proposal development, and the delivery of high-quality advisory services.

Rather than focusing on theory, the programme equipped her with tools she could immediately apply in her work with entrepreneurs.

The impact was almost immediate. Armed with stronger systems and greater confidence, Jane secured four new contracts, including partnerships with the MTN Foundation and KCB Foundation, organisations she had previously considered out of reach.

Working with Movit Products, she has since trained more than 300 salon and beauty entrepreneurs across Eastern Uganda in customer care, marketing, and record-keeping. She has also expanded into new sectors, delivering financial literacy training to boda boda riders through Pureflow Company, demonstrating how the same practical business support can be adapted across different industries.

The new systems transformed the way Jane works. Planning and budgeting became significantly more efficient, allowing her to move away from ad hoc delivery and adopt structured, repeatable training models. She can now manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining the quality of support her clients receive.

Jane's journey illustrates the multiplier effect of strengthening local business development service providers. By equipping trusted ecosystem actors with practical, evidence-backed tools, AMI enables them to reach more entrepreneurs, deliver higher-quality support, and build sustainable businesses of their own.

As Jane continues to grow her practice, hundreds more entrepreneurs across Uganda are benefiting from better business advice, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond a single training programme.