Justice Minister Mao, National Planner Muvawala urge innovators to bear risks if they are to set trends

Norbert Mao, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, who presided over the 2024 Business Trends expo, has highlighted the need for policymakers to attend such expos because they are morale boosters to exhibitors.

This year’s business trends expo and launch of the 5th Business Trendsetters forum whose finale will be held at Sheraton Kampala Hotel in August is under the theme, “Artificial intelligence. Your mind and your business”

“Most people don’t like risks. Everything in life comes with risks. Innovating, launching new businesses, people putting their savings into ventures, all come with risks. That explains the few numbers of people jumping into innovating their own business,” he said while explaining the fears of youths being innovative.

Mao further stated that there’s a need for incubators, citing top athletes who have coaches guiding them on what to do. In this aspect, he therefore advised that there is a need to have a deliberate process of empowering people with money but also ensuring that successful people are mentoring them.

“Some countries have invested in things like restaurants, for instance in Thailand, when you go anywhere in the world you will find a Thai restaurant. It is funded by the government; they take their top chefs to train people on how to cook Thai food and the government puts in money,” he added.

“Chinese restaurants are doing that even Ethiopian restaurants are doing the same. To me, it’s not enough to give people money. You must also hold their hand and walk with them until they can fly,” he further explained.

The 2024 business trends expo at Emin Pasha Hotel saw Jena Herbal being nominated as the best trends Exhibitor, out of 42 contesting businesses that had qualified to exhibit their products during the expo.

Since the manufacturing of Covidex during the period of COVID-19, Jena Herbals Limited has worn several African accolades, including the 2023 Business Trends Pacesetter.

Minister Mao explained that choosing Jena as the top exhibitor was because they are contributing to the betterment of the health of Ugandans. He said, “Uganda is an underdeveloped country which needs medicine to prevent illnesses, and once people fall sick the government may not be able to treat them.”

Apart from nominating Jena Herbal as the best trends exhibitor, the minister also nominated Ruthida Crafts and Nyonta Relief making them the best 3 exhibitors of the 2024 trends expo.

Meanwhile, in her message to the exhibitors, Yvonne Mpanga the Chief Executive officer of Business Trends Galore, said If everyone wants to invest in Africa, as Ugandans and as Africans, they must be innovative enough to turn whatever investments they make into a source of knowledge for future businesses.

She noted, “We must consciously and deliberately, create ideas bigger than us while using our eyes as projectors. Therefore, our role is to figure out how AI will help make innovations happen, walk through it, and deal with and use it to enhance that which we already possess.”

Mpanga appreciated all those who managed to make it out of the 42 business exhibitors who were approved to be authentic and capable of exhibiting their products.

While quoting Pepe Minambo’s Beyond Limits, she said “The Sky is no longer the limit for the innovators, instead it’s an obstacle! for people who have already been to the moon. Limitations only exist to those who set them and live only in their minds.”

Regarding criteria for anyone to be part of the business trends exhibitors, Mpanga noted that as organizers, they usually focus on the uniqueness of a product a company is selling to the public. She said that even if Jubilees Insurance is already known for its insurance services, at least its uniqueness in providing services elderly was unique.

“Let’s start with our minds “If your mind can conceive it, your body can achieve it!” and AI can accelerate it. Money Making is largely emotional and mental. A study shows that 20% percent of business success is due to mechanics and 80% is due to your psychology. And when we realize that our soul is not contained within the limits of my body; my body is contained within the limitlessness of our souls, the sky will only be but a limitation,”