Featuring: *Lease Financing in Uganda *Finance Lease and Operating Lease Main Menu Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 This presentation is designed and organised by the New Vision Internet Department. Editor Davis J. Weddi dfcu lease led to my company’s huge success By Alex Balimwikungu In 1987, Omara resigned from his job as a government skills instructor with the Ministry of Labour. His dream was to start a signage company that would address the need for quality and promptness. But his biggest problem at the time was he did not have any savings to rent office space. “I was penniless. All I had were my skills. Later on, a good friend, who came to learn of my plight, loaned me his verandah for an office,” narrates Omara. Eighteen years down the road, Omara still faces the same problem, but with a pleasant twist. He needs more office space to accommodate the burgeoning signage business. Today, he exports his work to USA, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda and eastern Democratic republic of Congo. In Uganda, his vast clientele include big companies like MTN, Celtel, UTL, New Vision, Uganda Breweries, Nile Breweries, local government and town councils among others. “I never knew it would turn out to be like this, but I am pleasantly surprised by the twist of events,” he exclaims. Standard signs, on first street, Industrial area, next to Ange Mystique, have built a reputation and branded themselves as one of Uganda’s leading signage companies. At the beginning, Omara used to walk from office to office soliciting for work. Today, many customers come to him because of the quality of his work, thanks to the dfcu’s helping hand. Omara’s partnership with dfcu started when one of his clients observed his potential and advised him to acquire a lease for machinery from dfcu leasing. He never imagined he had opened the door gates to wealth and fame. “He (the client) told me it would take my business to another level of growth and expansion. Heeding to this advice was one of my best business decisions. I acquired a lease for a printer worth $25,000, which I have since paid off and got two more printers, also on lease. With the printers procured from China, the quality of my products has improved. I am also able to produce to double capacity,” he says. Omara reckons that leasing is a form of financing business that Ugandans should explore. According to him, it has helped him make significant progress. His production capacity was increased while safeguarding his work capital. TODAY, Standard Signs employs over 22 permanent staff and dozens of casual employees. At anyone given time, they have over 1,500 jobs going on. However, one of the company’s biggest success factors has been the attitude of the people Omara works with. “When I started out, I could not afford very highly-skilled employees. Since I am a trainer, I looked for people with raw talent, but positive attitude. That has been one of my winning formulae. Honesty and hard work have been another unbreakable maxim of the business. Sometimes they have to work the night shift in order to beat deadlines. They have also tried to be consistent with quality and competitive pricing,” he says. Omara’s next step is to purchase the premises that he is currently renting, in order to cut down on operating costs. He has applied for a mortgage from dfcu. With a strong leasing partner, Omara can afford to dream big.