NN Group Boss urges gov’t to support SMEs

By Andrew Cohen Amvesi  

ARUA. Ismail Nuru, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NN Group, a multi-billion group of companies operating in the West Nile sub-region, has urged the government of Uganda to consider supporting small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

According to Nuru, the support from the government will help to uplift local investors who will in turn offer job opportunities to the local people within the society.

“We want to appeal to the government as we all know, the government is the biggest buyer of motor vehicles; the Toyota, Isuzu in the country, to support the local investors as SMEs. By doing so, they will uplift the local investors and also give opportunities to our children who have finished education to get jobs within their society and support their families,” Nuru said.

Nuru made the remarks during the official launch of a brand-new state-of-art 4×4 accessory showroom in Arua city on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

During the function, Nuru said if supported, SMEs will be a game changer in creating additional job opportunities for the youths in West Nile.

He said this will go a notch higher to enhance the experience of the youths and strengthen the economy of the region

Nuru, who employs over 50 youths in his company, commended the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government led by President Yoweri Museveni for providing peace and conducive environment for businesses to grow.

“We couldn’t be where we are today without peace and stability,” Nuru said before taking the guests through the showroom where different brand-new motorcycles, car batteries and original vehicle and motorcycle spare parts are displayed for sale.

In his remarks, Swadick Angupale Alemi, the Arua Deputy Resident City Commissioner (RCC), said as a government, they are proud of what Nuru is doing in Arua city.

“As government, we are proud of you. The number of people you have employed here, if you were not there, where would they be accommodated? That is what as government, we appreciate and pray that you continue expanding the services so that you accommodate more young people who need employment opportunities and here are the opportunities that we are talking about,” Angupale said.

The Chief Guest, Evelyne Anite, the State Minister of Finance in charge of Investment and Privatization who was represented by Geofrey Feta, the Ayivu East MP, promised to support Nuru by ensuring that he gets all the investment incentives requested.

Anite said Nuru deserves the investment incentives he asked for because of the money he has invested in the region coupled with the number of youths he has employed.

The Minister, however, appealed to Nuru to give opportunity to local content by also considering the local people for jobs in his company.

Relatedly, Anite advised that the accessories Nuru brings to Arua should be able to facilitate local assembling.

“If you were bringing parts of whatever vehicles from Australia, from Japan, from China, if you create a showroom here, you should also create an assembling plant here, that will be in line with what the government wants,” she guided.

Anite promised to visit the new state-of-art 4×4 accessory showroom in person to inspect it and appreciate what Nuru is doing.

Prior to the official launch, the NN Group team made Zebra Crossings at different accident-prone spots along the major highways in Arua city as well as sensitizing locals on road safety measures.