MAKERERE – A number of Makerere university students have joined multi-level network working with companies promising them high rates of return with little risk.

These located at Ham towers, Sliver Arcade, Haruna towers and University Plaza; continue to prompt students to join their networks as they guarantee high returns with little risks of losing the investment to students.

According to Jamia Komwaka, a self proclaimed professional networker and a member of Alliance in Motion also known as AIM global, joining MLM business requires little money depending on the company charges. She says that unlike other businesses, here one is required to pay once and start earning without taxes charged on the investor, this attract students to join network marketing business.

"MLM business does not require a lot, you just need little capital, dress up smart and talk to people about your business but more so you need to work as a team, engage in company trainings and events to earn. The best part is that we earn on daily basis whether you’re at work or a school" Kelvin Jjingo,a second year Bachelor of industrial art and a member of AIM global said.

However, Reagan Tumusiime a student and a former member of AIM global and super life revealed that both companies are enterprises of conmen.

“I was introduced to these companies and I was promised to get rich in a week, i paid my Shs.780000 out of excitement but I didn’t get any coin, I spent my vacation training conmen acts not until I quitted."

Central bank warns

The Bank of Uganda (BOU) recently warned the public against investing in businesses which sound too good to be true also explaining that such dealings could be Ponzi or pyramid schemes.

In the statement dated last month central bank says that’s Ponzi or pyramid schemes are fraudulent investing scams promising high rates of return with little risk to investors.

The BOU says that if a business guarantees an investor high returns with little risks of losing the investment, it is false.

The statement further adds that “If the investment opportunity promises you consistent returns regardless of the market conditions, legitimate businesses usually experience times of profit and times of loss. If the investment strategy or business activities are described as too complex for investors to understand, or top secret and cannot be explained, it is suspicious.”

The Central Bank also warns that if the proprietor running the business focuses all their energy into attracting new clients to make investments without a constant flow of new investments to continue to provide returns to the scheme owners and older investors, the scheme will fall apart.

“If both old and new clients face difficulties trying to remove their money from the scheme, many times it has already been spent on paying the proprietors or other investors,” reads the statement.

The public is urged to trust their investments with licensed investment firms regulated by Capital Markets Authority and licensed deposit-taking institutions which are regulated by the Bank of Uganda and for which there is a clear recourse mechanism.