Uganda’s Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has announced a major breakthrough in business registration efficiency, with the process now taking only three to four hours, according to their latest report.
In the recently released 2022/23 Annual Report, Ms. Mercy Kainobwisho, Registrar General of URSB, revealed that the implementation of the Online Business Registration System has streamlined operations, slashing the registration turnaround time from three to seven days to just a matter of hours.
The Online Business Registration System, operationalized in 2022, has been integrated with the National Identification and Registration Authority and Uganda Revenue Authority, simplifying registration transactions from start to finish.
Despite initial hurdles, the system has stabilized over time, leading to a notable surge in the uptake of business registration services, averaging a 58.4 percent increase.
Key highlights from the report include:
– Companies now registered within three to four hours.
– Registering a business name now takes just 30 minutes, down from 24 hours.
– Legal document registration completed in about one hour, with instant searches and document certification.
Previously, Uganda faced challenges in business registration, with manual filing systems causing delays of up to 10 to 15 days, as reported by the World Bank’s Doing Business reports (discontinued in 2021 due to irregularities).
The advancements made by URSB in automating and streamlining business registration processes are expected to bolster entrepreneurship and spur economic growth in Uganda.
