By Our Reporter
In an effort to curb youth unemployment and high school drop outs, Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) has announced a scholarship scheme for academically deserving yet economically disadvantaged students in Western and Central Uganda.
Under this scholarship programme, Uganda Breweries will pay total fees of up to UGX 115,960,000 (One hundred and fifteen million, nine hundred and sixty thousand shillings) for 40 students to study from African College of Commerce and Technology (ACCT) Kabale, a training institution in Business, Management, Entrepreneurship, and Information Communication Technology and DATAMINE Institute based in Kampala.
The programme that is running under Uganda Breweries’ “Skills for Life Initiative”, will entail payment of tuition for their second year of study, entrepreneurship training as well as seed capital for those that would have excelled in the program.
It will be managed and run on behalf of UBL by technical expert, Enterprise Uganda, who have vast experience in SME development, training and mentorship in entrepreneurship.
Speaking during the announcement at ACCT Kabale, UBL Communications Manager, and Rhona Arinaitwe said, “At Uganda Breweries, one of our key priority areas is skilling youth. This is why under our Skills for Life Initiative, we continue to offer special opportunities to the nation’s brightest scholars who are less fortunate.”
Arinaitwe added that UBL does not stop at awarding these scholarships but goes ahead to provide career guidance and mentorship support for the beneficiaries on business start-ups and expansion skills which they will later use to increase job opportunities in their communities, improving their incomes and eradicating poverty in the long run.
“With this current programme, UBL shall give practical skills to these bright and innovative but less privileged students so that they can utilize the services to generate income and employ others from within their communities.”
The Director for ACCT Kabale, Adrian Ndemere, hailed Uganda Breweries Limited for its contribution towards uplifting education in the Western region in Uganda.
In 2018, UBL offered scholarships to 20 young and bright students from the farming communities in Acholi sub region in Northern Uganda, and offered them practical skills to enhance their employability or be used in self-employment. The two technical institutions that benefited from this project were Kitgum Technical Institute and Daniel Comboni Vocational Institute. From the total beneficiaries that were sponsored and skilled in October 2018, 86 percent of them have gone ahead and started businesses of their own.