Uganda, April 26 -- Small and medium-sized businesses in Uganda have long complained about inadequate funding, but new research indicates that they require strong corporate governance to increase their operational effectiveness, increase their access to capital, and reduce risks.

The World Bank contends that a substantial amount of research demonstrates that companies with sound governance practices have noticeably superior long-term financial outcomes, and grow faster and more sustainably.

"Conversely, results consistently show poor governance practices to be directly linked to poor business performance, fraud, and catastrophic failures," the World Bank said in a new report about corporate governance in small and medium-term enterprise...