Articles

Why Social Media Should be Integrated as a Topic in Uganda’s Secondary School Curriculum

In the past, there was an evening fire that could be characterised with stories from grandparents, but now this competes with the silent glow of smartphone screens. This is the new reality: a generation of young adults, aged 18 to 30 and above, whose worldviews are increasingly shaped not by communal wisdom, but by the relentless scroll of social media feeds. At Gateway Research Centre, we observe this digital shift not with alarmist condemnation, but with a proactive conviction....

How Owino’s traders turn the world’s waste into Uganda’s wardrobe

At the bottom of this value chain lies ‘fagi’, the torn, stained and outdated items that, despite being the least desirable, form a critical, often overlooked pillar of affordability and recycling in a nation where 16.9 per cent live below the poverty line.

Weight vs worth: how Uganda’s kg tax breaks the law & traders’ backs

A comprehensive study by Gateway Research Centre, drawing on field data from traders and officials, exposes the reality of this conflict. The East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA), 2004, which Uganda assented to, explicitly requires customs duty to be levied on the declared transaction value as documented on the invoice.

Lifeline or Liability? The Double-Edged Sword of Second-Hand Clothes

Engage manufacturers in formulation of quality control policies

The question still lingers as to why the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) conducts little or no stakeholder consultations during the formulation of the national quality control policies

Influx of counterfeits: A Torch into UNBS’ Q-Mark

The rationale is to safeguard the health and value for money for consumers. The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is mandated to enforce and monitor this. However, in the past two decades, there has been a rise in counterfeit products on the market despite UNBS’s attempt to reduce these.

Uganda Needs a National Street Vendors' Policy

The Local Government Act (1997) does not provide guidelines or framework within which street vendors should operate. The Kampala Capital City Act (2010) provides for village urban councils and street committees whose role does not define how they will manage street vendors.

The Need for a Night Economy in Uganda

The evening or night economy describes economic activities taking place in the evening after many people accomplish daytime employment/activities. The night economy is a source of employment and additional revenue for local governments particularly Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), and in the process, it will boost local tourism due to the attractiveness it brings.

Stop Carrying Huge Sums of Money

Stories of people being robbed of millions of shillings from their homes, or car boots, are rampant. This is weird, considering the different safe financial platforms available today. Currently, mobile phone subscribers in Uganda stand at more than 28.3 million customers, implying that many Ugandans can embrace digital technology.

Easing the economic environment for market vendors in Uganda

In Kampala, a large percentage of traders engage in informal businesses for instance in market centres, public transport, restaurants while others operate along streets.

Why Kampala’s arcades are becoming empty?

Kampala CBD is the busiest trading zone with the majority of the traders dealing in clothing, food and beverages, electronics, construction hardware materials, pharmaceuticals, small and medium industries etc.

Will Uganda’s fuel prices drop?

“Even when we try to increase transport fares, people cannot afford. The economy is down all our clients do not have money,” one of the taxi drivers on Kampala-Masaka road lamented.