How Mbale Industrial Park is empowering women

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MBALE - “I have been a receptionist at the industrial park for three years now. Before joining, I was in a marriage that failed to work out and I came back home [Mbale]," Carol Kayegi, a single mother of three, says.

She adds that life was extremely hard "for me and I started searching for jobs to take care of my children".

Luck was on her side when she submitted an application for a job to the industrial park management and received positive feedback immediately.

“I have been able to provide for my children and take them to school,” Kayegi says.
Jackline Natuga, 32, who works as a field supervisor in administration and has been employed for one year at the industrial park, says she has benefitted from the favorable working environment at her workplace.

“When I came here, I knew nobody. I just submitted my application, did the interview, and got the job,” she said.

The duo is among the over 3,500 women who have been employed at the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park. 

The Mbale city-based park was in August last year officially commissioned by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. 

“You may recall that this location was a bush a few years ago, but now we have a labour force of 2,000 and 36 factories here," the President said at the time of launching the park. That labour force has since swelled providing much-needed work for both women and men.

In light of International Women's Day, which was celebrated on March 8, 2024, Aisha Tabala, the park's assistant administrator, says a lot has been accomplished, in ensuring gender equality and also that women are not overlooked for leadership positions at the facility.

“We have put in place so many efforts to ensure that every woman is supported at her workplace. As management, we have ensured that we rely more on women and ensure their job fits well with other areas of their life, followed by enjoying the work that they do, and believing that their job gives them the opportunity to make a difference,” Tabala, who has been at the facility for six years, says. She adds that they ensure pay equity, flexible work arrangements for the women and have anti-discrimination and harassment policies in place.

“We have put in place attainable goals for each female staff, reinforced the importance of positive life skills, such as hard work, persistence, a positive attitude, and responsibility. We have also been realistic about the challenges in the work sector,” she adds.

Kayegi says they have been provided avenues to raise complaints ranging from sexual harassment to bullying within the premises.

Sharon Nashali, who is also a field supervisor and has worked at the facility since 2022, says: “All they asked me when I came in to apply was whether I had an identification card. I came in as a casual but I have scaled through the ranks.”

According to Nashali, suggestion boxes around the different companies in the park come in handy whenever one has a pressing issue and they are not comfortable opening up to the authorities.  

Another supervisor at the park, Shamim Birungi, says she joined as a casual while she was still a student. 

However, Birungi has since graduated with a bachelor's in economics, which has catapulted her to her current position. 

Facts about the Mbale Industrial Park

Situated in the Mbale District and sprawling across an expansive 619 acres of land, the Mbale Industrial Park has emerged as a pivotal hub for economic growth and innovation.

When President Museveni was launching the facility, he said: "The 16 factories I have just inaugurated, including those already in operation, will produce items such as electric cables, electric meters, clothes, LED lights, and numerous other products. This initiative will rescue us from spending hundreds of millions of dollars on imports while simultaneously generating employment opportunities.”

The park's story dates back to 2018 when the Government, through the Uganda Investment Authority, leased the land to M/S Tangshan. This strategic partnership aimed to provide serviced plots for investors eager to establish their presence within the industrial park.

The industrial park has the first mobile substation in Uganda and has been linked to the Tororo-Soroti power line.

The installation of the mobile substation is a temporary solution to power shortages at the industrial park as government clears ground to establish a permanent substation.
The park currently employs about 6,000 people and is expected to create jobs for over 200,000 people from the local community at full capacity.

It is also one of 22 national-level industrial parks around the country that were proposed by President Yoweri Museveni to process locally produced material for value addition.
The Mbale Industrial Park has been listed by the Chinese government as the industrial park with the highest potential in Uganda because of its geographical location.

This park not only enhances China's influence abroad but also supports the country in the transfer of its business capacity in the new situation of the "Belt and Road", in an effort to bring new opportunities for the development of the enterprise.

The location of Mbale between Kampala and the Kenyan border strategically positions it for easy distribution of goods to the region.