Counterfeits and substandard products are putting businesses, lives and livelihoods on the line
The 2015 report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor has ranked Uganda as the most entrepreneurial country in the world. More than a quarter of the Ugandan population (28 percent) have started out a business of their own in the last 3.5 years. The surge in entrepreneurship activity among Ugandans has been supported by improved reliability of electricity supply, investments in roads, regional integration efforts, and the ICT and mobile phone revolution that have made connectivity and payments easier even in hitherto hard to reach remote areas. However, whilst an ever increasing number Ugandans are turning to entrepreneurship as a way to advance their economic prospects, the odds still remain heavily stacked against them. Many businesses have to deal with, among others, unfair competition from substandard and counterfeit alternatives. Counterfeiting and the proliferation of cheap substandard products on the market is a major constraint to business growth and competitiven