In the enabling business environment in Uganda, the beneficiaries of tax exemptions and incentives are large, well-established domestic firms and foreign multinational companies. This leaves a large informal sector composed mainly of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises at a disadvantage, particularly given the usual characteristics of such enterprises (unregistered, small businesses with low start-up capital investment requirements and minimal turnover). Furthermore, the survival of such enterprises beyond five years is highly uncertain, so they tend not to be competitive.
The policy support component of SWITCH Africa Green aims to address such issues by identifying gaps in policies, regulations, laws and standards in the priority sectors to address potential roadblocks to green business development and by supporting the formulation of specific policies, regulations and standards and the establishment or strengthening of the institutions needed for resource-efficient and green businesses to emerge and grow.