Uganda launches One Stop Center eBiz portal for investors, entrepreneurs
With aspirations to improve business environment in the country the Government of Uganda, through Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), is launching a One Stop Centre web portal eBiz which will offer government services for investors, traders, and entrepreneurs.
The web portal www.eBiz.go.ug will allow businesses to apply for various licenses and permits required for doing business in Uganda by different government authorities through a single entry point. The portal will also serve as a reliable source of information for eBiz users, since all requirements of application process will be listed and described there.
“The main objective of the One Stop Center eBiz portal is to support private sector development and attract foreign investment in Uganda by creating business friendly environment – more efficient and reliable government services for businesses. We will achieve this by providing main services online and eliminating uncertainty about requirements, time and costs of the procedures,” commented Minister for General Duties Hon Kabwegere Tarsis.
The solution to turn UIA into a ‘One stop center’ is in line with a world-wide best-practice of efficient data sharing and services integration among different government agencies.
“The e-Biz is a next-generation One Stop Center, offering a significantly more integrated approach than it is usually achieved in other countries. eBiz users will be able to request and pay for all services needed for starting a business in one go. eBiz platform shall automatically manage the workflow – sending requests to institutions, collecting responses, ordering next services,” explained Executive Director of UIA Eng. Frank Sebowa.
The eBiz project is innovative not only in its content, but equally in the way how it is implemented. Though final delivery of the project is expected in June this year, the eBiz portal has already been made public in January – it has most of its core elements and a couple of fully functioning services.
“Launching the “beta” version of e-Biz allows us to test the platform early, get feedback from users and make necessary corrections and improvements for the final product”, explained Executive Director of NITA Mr James Saaka.
“Therefore, eBiz users are encouraged to try the available services and actively provide feedback for One Stop Center eBiz officers”.
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The eBiz web portal is currently offering the following services:
- Guiding information for Foreign Investors and Local Entrepreneurs.
- Applying for Business Name Reservation.
- Applying for Land title verification/ search letter.
- Assessment and provision of payment slip for services applied.
In the next few months, when eBiz web portal is fully functional, the online services will include:
- Applying for Business name, Business Registration, Investment License, KCCA Trading License, Tax Identification Number (TIN) for company, TIN for director, Work Permit, Special Pass, Environment Impact Assessment certificate.
- Paying for all the services online by credit card, mobile money, bank transfer.
- Ability to pay for various services in various institutions with one payment.
“As the first inter-institutional project of such scale and complexity in Uganda, it is a challenging task and highly relies on successful cooperation among the involved agencies. However, we are confident that it is in the best interest of all institutions to make the e-Biz work”, commented Executive Director of NITA Mr James Saaka.
Agencies involved it the eBiz project are: Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MOLHUD).
