Across Uganda, thousands of small businesses are operating under names their owners believe they fully control.
But according to the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), many of those entrepreneurs have no legal claim to the brands they are building.
Salons in Kampala, small shops, and online traders running businesses through WhatsApp and Instagram are investing time, money, and reputation in names that are not formally registered. URSB says this leaves them exposed to disputes or imitation by competitors.
The warning forms the centre of a new digital awareness campaign launched by the bureau known as “Ganyulwa Mu Business”.
The campaign is part of URSB’s wider “Kiri Easy” mass formalisation initiative aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs to register their businesses and protect their brands.
URSB says many business owners wrongly assume that simply using a name over time gives them legal ownership.
“Many people are building real businesses, but without registration, ownership can be hard to prove,” said Walid Kule, assistant commissioner for registration services at URSB.
He added that once an entrepreneur begins serving customers, they are effectively building a brand that requires legal protection.
Uganda’s informal sector remains large, with many businesses operating successfully without official registration. While this provides income and employment, URSB says it also carries significant risks.
Businesses without formal registration often struggle to open corporate bank accounts, access loans, participate in government procurement, or partner with larger companies.
In disputes over ownership, authorities usually ask for proof of registration. Without it, business owners may be forced to change their names or even lose control of the brand they have spent years developing.
URSB is using the campaign to clarify the difference between business registration and trademark protection, two concepts that many entrepreneurs confuse.
Registering a business gives it legal recognition and allows the owner to operate formally. Through URSB’s Online Business Registration System, entrepreneurs can search for available names, reserve them, and register a sole proprietorship or company online.
However, registration alone does not prevent another business from using a similar name, logo, or slogan.
According to URSB, brand elements such as logos, slogans, and product names can only be legally protected through a trademark.
“If you’ve worked hard to build customer trust around a name, a trademark is how you protect that name,” Kule said.
Trademark applications are processed through URSB’s intellectual property online platform.
Legal experts say failure to trademark key brand elements can expose even registered companies to disputes if another entity secures trademark rights first.
URSB says the campaign has already generated strong public interest. Within a day of its launch, the bureau reported thousands of views online and a noticeable rise in inquiries from entrepreneurs seeking clarification on registration and trademark procedures.
According to URSB records, more than 535,000 businesses that previously operated informally have been registered since the bureau intensified its formalisation efforts.
The agency has also conducted registration clinics in several busy commercial areas in the Greater Kampala region, including Luzira, Kireka, and Banda. Similar outreach programmes have been held in regional trading centres such as Mbale and Soroti.
URSB says formal registration opens up opportunities for businesses to bid for government tenders, sign enforceable contracts, attract investors, and plan for long-term growth.
The bureau notes that registering a business costs less than Shs90,000, a fee it says is small compared with the potential losses that can arise from ownership disputes or forced rebranding.
