H.E. Mrs Virginie Leroy, Ambassador of France to Uganda with Catherine Poran, Chief Executive Stanbic Business Incubator display MoUs after signing
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The Embassy of France in Uganda has provided a Sh1.8b grant to the Stanbic Business Incubator Limited (SBIL) to train Uganda’s youth and women in Kampala and the Albertine region.
The finances, to go towards promoting the development of a green and resilient economy are to be channeled through the “Greentech Incubator and Accelearator for Entrepreneurship in Uganda” programme. It will lead to training of up to 200 start-ups in renewable energy.
According to Virginie Leroy, the Ambassador of France to Uganda, the funding is aimed at contributing to building a resilient, inclusive and sustainable economy.
“The project is estimated to cost €687,833, with a total estimated French grant of €450,000 (Shs 1.8b) of which €131,351 will be released as first installment,” she said at a function where she signed on behalf of France, while Catherine Poran, the CEO, Stanbic Business Incubator Limited signed on behalf of SBIL. The ceremony held at the French Residence in Kampala on Tuesday, 30th September 2025.
Leroy said the project will support more than Ugandan 200 youth and women Small and Micro-Enterprises (SMEs) in sectors like sustainable cities, green mobility and circular economy.
“The support will additionally go towards waste management, renewable energies, water and health, and smart agro/agri technologies, by strengthening their capacities, facilitating their access to finance and markets and creating an environment that fosters their growth,” she noted.
She added that the program aligns with Uganda’s vision 2024 and the Green Growth Development Strategy.
“This project re affirms France’s long term commitment to supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and employability of Ugandans, particularly women and young people,” she said, adding that
in the recent years, there has been Embassy support to women and young people in the agro-ecology and ecotourism sectors (2021 and 2023), 110 micro, small and medium sized enterprises via the SBIL.
Under these initiatives, 500 women and young people were trained in the hospitality and agroecology sectors through training, networking and support for young entrepreneurs under the youth employability project (2023-2025), six startups in the cultural and creative industries (animated films, video games, music, virtual reality and others) under the SPICE project (2024-2025).
Catherine Poran said that on its part, Stanbic Business Incubator is committed to co-financing the project to a tune 0f €237,833 (34.5%).
“We are deeply grateful to the French embassy for their vision and trust in supporting in making this program a reality. Your investment is creating a transformative change in Uganda,” she said, adding that through this program, they anticipate to support about 300 entrepreneurs to pilot and scale solutions.
Roy Nyamutale Baguma Managing Director UECCC, Ambassador Virginie Leroy, Johnson Abitekaniza, Catherine Poran and Aaron Akampa
“We will directly train over 1,000 entrepreneurs, ensuring at least 60% are women and youth,” she said.
Poran added that for the Green Tech Incubator and Accelerator, they intend to extend their efforts into the green economy, enabling entrepreneurs to innovate, to solve climate challenges, but also create opportunities for growth for women, youth and farmers.
Aaron Akampa, Stanbic Bank’s Head of Enterprise Banking said that their commitment to the initiative is to be there to provide some of the pipeline of SMEs that will be participating in this initiative.
“Beyond the training is access to liquidity,” he said, thanking the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company (UECCC) for the funding they have provided towards green finance.
“This has provided a big pool of liquidity for the SMEs. Renewable energy and green finance is a very important priority right from the Standard Bank Group,” he said, adding that it’s one of the top three most important things that the group will be driving over the next five years.
This is going to have to be a collective effort as we tackle the climate challenges of the future.
Roy Nyamutale Baguma, the Managing Director, Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company (UECCC) said they have provided up to Shs 20 billion to Stanbic Bank, to promote green economy initiatives, which include solar energy adoption.
“The future of this country depends on how well we preserve energy and how progressive we are in executing the green economy initiatives,” he said.
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