Ruth Musoke Biyinzika is a Private Sector Development Specialist, Entrepreneur, Trainor, Mentor and a Coach. She sits on several boards, 3 for private companies and 3 for government agencies. She is currently the Project Manager of Skills Development Fund, a government of Uganda and World Bank Funded Project, which has seen her support over 500 organizations and targeting over 50,000 beneficiaries from 90 districts of Uganda. Over the course of 13 years, she has been able to speak to young small business owners, giving over 500 lectures. Ruth chairs Vision Group’s Pakasa awards and is a permanent member of KFM’s Hot Sit Tuesday Panelist.
As the government eases the lock down, businesses are slowly beginning to pick themselves up and reopen. But sadly the impact of the Covid19 pandemic bites hard, a number of businesses have had to close till further notice, customers can’t move freely to access goods and services, market demand has plummeted while many have been left cash strapped.
In part one of our Business Crisis series, Ruth shares strategies business owners can employ to obtain funds to ensure their survival and growth.
I know that during this Coronavirus crisis a number of businesses have been left cash strapped, why? Because when the pandemic hit, many never expected it. It was a surprise no one saw coming. It is only those that are very good at risk analysis, risk mitigation and setting aside money for unforeseeable risks that a were able to have money on their accounts. Moving forward, here is what I advise businesses to do;
- Cost cutting
Look at your expenses and see what you can cut. You might realize your operations were not efficient enough, for example you had a very big bill for salary, you were renting a very big space which you do not need. Generally, you were not careful enough on how you spent your money. I think this is the right time to be prudent. - Liquidation
If you have assets that you don’t need or do not bring in money, this is the right time to look into turning them to liquid. - Debt collection
If you have debtors you expect to get payment from, this is the right time to follow them up. You might hesitate because we are all going through Covid 19 pandemic but give them a call and try to have a conversation with them and make them understand the situation you are going through. I can assure you that some of them will look for money and pay you. - Borrow from friends and relatives
We have relatives and friends, you don’t even have to go to the bank. This is the time for you to look at your connections and see if there’s someone who can assist you, give you a soft loan to ensure that you can proceed. - Savings
If you saved your money, this is the time to make use of it. Invest it back to your business so you can be able to start. - Institutions
Make use of institutions that could have grunts like the Private Sector Foundation Uganda and others. Approach them and see what they have that can be able support the SME, then you can be able to take a loan. If you are a small company, I would advise you to go to the microfinance support center since they have better loan interests. A number of financial institutions have also been able to come up with Covid19 packages for businesses which can help them survive.
As an entrepreneur, you have to know that where there is a challenge, there comes an opportunity and it’s only those that not only go through these challenges but manage to raise up again that emerge successful.
