The Akamai Global Money Page

There is a sense in which being self employed or owning your own business can be more challenging than being employed. A self employed person who looks at the business as a place to work in will in most cases find that the business is like a wheelbarrow which only moves whenever she pushes it. At the beginning the business provides great goods or services to clients but as sales and clients grow quality begins to decline, timelines get missed and clients either grumble or vote with their pockets and opt to spend elsewhere. You need to realise that your business is not your life. The purpose of a business is to serve the life of its owner(s). If you are caught up in the rut of working in your business and things are not moving very well you will need to change tact and start to work on your business instead. In the following portion of this article we discuss the first two rules for working on a business. 1. The business should provide consistent value to clients, employees, suppli...

T hey were seated at the back of the commuter bus, commenting on anything they sighted. Then one of them saw a taxi on Kampala road and told his colleague, “Say how about if we went to Dubai and bought ourselves a taxi to operate?” Without missing a beat the colleague responded “With my high level of education I cannot stoop so low as becoming a taxi operator, I will get a well paying job.” His confident and almost arrogant response set me wondering whether he had ever come across the notion of financial freedom. The second man was certainly well schooled in the concept of exchanging time for money, the thing we call a job. His colleague on the other was trying to break into a new realm of thinking, a situation where instead of time for money one can have both the time and the money. The common definition of financial freedom is the state where an individual or household have sufficient assets or investments to meet their financial needs for the rest of their lives, without any ...

By James Abola The person or people who came up with the slogan "Uganda, gifted by nature" could not have come up with a better phrase. How else could you describe a country that has oil deposits, is home to a variety of animals and plants - some so rare that they can only be viewed from Uganda? Then there natural gifts like Uganda being the source of the River Nile, the wonderful climate that spans most of the country, the fertile soils and many other attributes. The renowned author and speaker, Brian Tracy says that humans are by nature lazy, greedy, ambitious, selfish, ignorant and vain. It is testament to human nature that despite the incredible gifts that nature has bestowed upon the country, many Ugandans continue in an existence of deprivation characterised by illiteracy, hunger, sickness and insecurity. Abundance of natural resources or sound macroeconomic policies and stable political and legal institutions are not sufficient for a nation to become prosperous. A nati...

In Uganda there is a term which is very common with the employed, "trying to make ends meet." During the first 2 or 3 months of employment, the employee is usually able to live on their salary until the next pay day. As the months go on the employee's cost of living increases and the money there are earning is no longer sufficient to cover the cost of living until the next pay day. This creates a situation where there is more month at the end of the money, hence the effort to make ends meet i.e. to have the salary cover expenses until the next pay day. This predicament is explained by Parkinson’s principle which is one of the best known and the most important Principles of money and wealth accumulation. It was developed by English writer C. Northcote Parkinson many years ago and it explains why most people retire poor. This principle says that, no matter how much money people earn, they tend to spend the entire amount and a little bit more besides. Their expenses rise i...

Uganda Cranes came back from a goal down at the end of the first half to beat Nigeria's Super Eagles by 2 goals to 1 in Nambole Stadium Kampala. Both goals for Uganda came from penalities won by Geoffrey Massa.

One book has asked this question, ‘what will it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet loose his own soul?’ I might ask, ‘what will it benefit you to gain so much wealth and not have the health to enjoy it?’ Am deeply moved by the rate at which people’s health is failing these days age not withstanding. Reading I came across this comment, ‘ As many as half of cancer deaths could be prevented if more people made lifestyle changes such as avoiding smoking and excessive sun exposure, eating nutritiously and getting regular exercise and recommended health screenings…’ Its takes falling ill to appreciate ones health, that you can actually loose control of everything and be at risk of actually loosing your life. When you are sick it costs money to recover but what’s even worse maybe the ability to enjoy what you have worked so hard to achieve. We need to be healthy to be able to make the money but also to enjoy it. Below are some tips that could help improve our health, giving ...

By Gordon Wavamunno (Wavah Books, 331 pages) (Aristoc Ug. Shs. 15,000/=) I have always believed that business in Africa faced special challenges that the best schools in the West could teach us nothing about. How does business in Africa cope with a poor skill base, high costs of production, corruption, and downright anarchy? How do you pick yourself up after your merchandise has been looted or destroyed by war? How do you work in an environment where a dissatisfied customer can put a gun to your head? How does one rise from a humble village of Rugaaga , Bukanga Sub-county , tearing his shorts, sliding downhill on a banana stem to the commanding heights of our economy? How does one earn the title Professor and conduct lectures at the best business schools, not having attended any? Put aside Kiyosaki and hear it from our very own. Gordon Babala Kasibante Wavamunno tells a riveting, compelling and truly inspirational story of the challenges to doing business in Uganda . ...

Many years ago, when I was being introduced to computers there was a common phrase that said “what you see is what you get”. Being computer talk, it would not be incomplete without an abbreviation which is stated as “WYSIWYG”. What you see is what you get is a fairly accurate description of vision. Whether you are moderately or extremely successful, the key to that success can usually be traced to a vision that you had earlier life. One excellent illustration of the power of vision is the story of Venus Williams and Serena Williams, two women who have become legends even before they become 30 years old. Before Venus was born, the story goes, her father, Richard Williams, was flipping through the channels, and spotted a tennis match on TV. He began watching it, and when he saw Virginia Ruzico win the tournament, he decided that he loved the sport and wanted to teach his next daughter how to play tennis. He hoped she would become a professional. While she was still young, Richard wou...

Sticky and Slick are long time colleagues but with opposing money habits. Sticky has an amazing ability to refrain from spending money unless it is absolutely necessary. For instance although Sticky owns a car he only uses it during emergencies like when it rains and it is not possible for him to get to office in time or when his son falls sick in the night and he has to rush him to a medical facility. Slick on the other hand is a happy go lucky fellow who spends so freely that you would be forgiven for thinking that he holds the title deed to a piece of land in the Albertine rift that has proven oil reserves. Now psychologists have found that the possible cause of the difference between the two characters is a result of their money personalities; which is also referred to as their unconscious money mind. A person’s money personality is those tendencies that can drive their financial behaviour with regard to income, expenditure and investments. Four different money personalities ha...

Since the advent of independence, many African countries have explored various ways to encourage and promote savings and investments by especially low earners. These efforts have ranged from cooperative societies, microfinance initiatives and the more recent merry go rounds and investment groups. The cooperative society whether it is for producing, marketing, saving or credit is intended to create synergy for the members. The cooperative system has been around since the 1950s and 1960s. Merry-go-rounds Throughout many African countries a concept has been growing in the last 10 or so years, it is called the ‘merry-go-round’. The ‘merry-go- round’ is a rotating savings group. Members collect money daily, weekly or monthly and at the end of the week or month the money goes to one member. ‘Merry-go-rounds’ do not charge interest to members and members use the money received from the group as they see fit. Some use the money for consumption or investment purpose. The main advantages of ‘mer...

BOOK REVIEW By Phillip Karugaba The Richest Man in Babylon : by George S. Clason (Signet, 144 pages) (Aristoc Ug. Shs. 18,800/=) As Uganda , struggles to break the shackles of a peasant economy and take its place among capitalist nations, we as individuals necessarily get swept up into the world of personal finance. Gone as the days when food came from the ‘ lusuku ’ at the back of the house! Today you sell your sweat hopefully to the highest bidder, and spend that income on meeting you needs. Special loan offers seem to multiply in competition with the mobile phone and car latest offerings. It is this severe contest on spending decisions that dominates the subject of personal finance. In his classic, The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clason gives basic home truths on personal finance. Clason offers those ambitious for financial success insights to acquire money, keep money and make their surpluses earn more money. Clason takes us to the days of the ancient wealthy city ...

Someone once said, ‘If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get lost?’ It has been said many times over that many businesses especially in Africa today rarely survive to their 5 th birthday. The reasons for this failure include; having the wrong reason for starting the business, poor management; insufficient capital, and lack of planning. I have noticed the great reluctance by many to go through the planning process. We tend to imagine we have it all set in our mind and normally feel like a business planner is ripping us off for doing something we assume is easy to do. Contrary to common belief, developing a business plan is an opportunity to achieve your business goals as it helps you focus business activities giving you more control over your finances, marketing, daily operations and helps you raise the capital you need. A business plan is essentially a map to your targeted destination. It gives you a clear idea of the obstacles that lie ahead and ...

Many parents received conflicting advice or no advice at all on how to teach their children to handle money. One old time approach is to ensure that children never get into contact with money in order to avoid “getting spoilt.” A woman who is now a parent narrated how she got some money and bought an exercise book when she was still in lower primary. When she dashed home to show the purchase to her parents, they were instead concerned that she could get spoilt by money and gave her a good spanking. Some parents and guardians still brave the queue to pay university and college fees for their dependents. The reason usually is not because the money might be stolen from the children but rather because the parents do not trust the children with money. The question is how will these children be trusted with their own salaries, when they get jobs after college? Here are a few ‘alternative’ tips for parents who want to pass on wholesome money skills to their children. Like the old book...

AKAMA I UGANDA changing lives REGISTRATION IN PROGRESS “Leaders are learners…lifelong learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field. Make a decision today that you are going to become a student of your craft and that you are going to continue learning and becoming better for the rest of your life.” Brian Tracy. COURSE OBJECTIVE Improve the financial literacy of participants, that is, help participants acquire knowledge and skills for better management of expenses, debt, investment and retirement planning. COURSE CONTENT Module/Topic 1 Overview of Personal Financial Management Where do you stand financially? 2 Your Values/Aspirations/Dreams and Your Money Where are you going financially? 3 Wealth growing principles Economics & your money 4 Financial Security & Financial Dreams Inve...

The shares of Stanbic Bank Uganda begun trading on the Uganda Securities Exchange today, 25/1/2007. From the IPO price of Shs 70 per share, the highest price on the market was Shs 205, which just fell shy of 3 times the issue price. The challenge many brokers had was the wide spread between buying and selling prices. Most buyers wanted the stock at about Shs 150 while sellers wanted Shs 250. If the price of Shs 205 is maintained then more deals are likely to follow next week when the exchange reopens for trading.

The Stanbic Bank shares begin trading on the Uganda Securities Exchange on January 25, 2007. The Stanbic IPO that closed on December 22, 2006 was 200% oversubscribed, according to MBEA the lead brokers. The allotment for various categories where as follows: Individual Ugandan investors offered all shares applied for upto UGX 150 million. Other investors including foreign individuals and institutional investors offered up to UGX 7.6m of all shares applied for. The allotment of shares has been completed and below is a summary position. No. of applications received 37,449 No. of shares applied for 3,000,000,000 Value of shares applied for UGX. 211,000,000,000 Level of oversubscription (subscription) 200% (300%) No. of Ugandan individual applicants 15,488 No. of Ugandan institutional applicants 407 No. of foreign individual applicants 20,091 No. of foreign institutional investors 1,463

Beyond Dreams & Aspirations AKAMAI UGANDA presents a practical seminar that will help you identify and achieve your dreams and aspirations for the year 2007. Date: February 3, 2007 Time: 9 am – 12:00 noon Venue: Grand Imperial Hotel, Kampala Fee: U Shs 20, 000 Discount for group payment for 10+ Booking: akamai.uganda@gmail.com or Tel. 256751516118/712472109 It's that time of the year when you are reflecting on 2006, wondering how much or little you have achieved. You probably made New Year resolutions in 2006 and many were abandoned before the first quarter was done. You are now wondering what 2007 holds and maybe don't want to make any other resolutions, just in case you fail yet again. The seminar will answer questions like: # What is the difference between a person who achieves their goals and one who doesn't? # What practical steps can I take to be successful in 2007 and beyond? # How can I be...