Manufacturing journalist TR Cutler recently returned from Uganda and met Gilbert Atuhire, Managing Director at Value Addition Microfinance Ltd. which provides micro loans to producers and manufacturers. Cutler’s interview with Atuhire can be read in the November issue of The Manufacturing Report magazine here.
Cutler introduced Atuhire as an attorney by training, however his ability to articulate the core values of Lean Six Sigma and continuous process improvement were abundantly clear.
“For decades microfinancing has been a promising method for SME companies to grow and advance market share. Characteristically what has been missing is business due diligence to attract financing. This is particularly true in Uganda. The nation is engaging in an active campaign to ensure global understanding of the country’s progress and suitability for foreign investment,” shared Cutler.
Atuhire noted, “Our process is about determining the efficacy of the loan. Before a funding issue arises, we perform a unique assessment process to ensure that the constraint being solved is in fact the bottleneck for the manufacturer’s actual constraint. Throwing money at something without this assessment is wasteful and fails to produce the intended profit result. Increasing production does not always translate to increased profits.”
“Many investors, particularly EU and American investors, are very savvy and practice Lean Manufacturing continuous process improvement as the norm. For more than a quarter century these investors have witnessed the implementation of best-practice policies. While far from perfect, it provides an additional layer of risk mitigation for funding. Many Ugandan companies lack the collateralization that traditional banks require. We believe our assessment process is a better metric to determine whether the enterprise is investable,” added Atuhire.
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Thomas R. Cutler is celebrating the 23-year anniversary of the Manufacturing Media Consortium, a group of 9000+ editors, journalists, freelancers, economists, addressing the industrial sector. Cutler and his team work to track the industrial sector trends which includes manufacturing, distribution, supply chain, robotics, technology, Industry 4.0, IIoT, and much more.
Cutler has launched two new areas of concentration: the power of Gen Z on the industrial sector and the dynamic impact of the African continent as a growing force in manufacturing.
Cutler has personally authored more than 8,000 articles for a wide range of leading manufacturing periodicals, industrial publications, and business journals. He was recently named the Most Influential Supply Chain Journalist by AI Global Media. Cutler is the most published freelance industrial journalist worldwide, and over 5000 industry leaders follow Cutler on Twitter daily at @ThomasRCutler.
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