Betty Amongi, the Minister, Gender, Labour and Social Development
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project has been able to positively impact the lives of hundreds of women, Betty Amongi, the Gender Minister has disclosed.
GROW is a government initiative funded by a Grant from the International Development Association of the World Bank in a grant totaling to $217m.
It is being administered by the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development (MGLSD), with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) as the implementing agency.
Financed with from the International Development Association of the World Bank, the project became effective on 20th January 2023, and is expected to close on 31st December 2027.
“The project’s overall aim, which is to increase access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their enterprises, including refugee women and women in host districts, has been accomplished,” said Amongi.
She added that the project has adequately responded to the need to respond to multiple constraints hindering women in business from growing their businesses,” she said at a recent press briefing.
“It has also been able to address the issue of inadequate business management skills through trainings, lack of access to affordable capital through forging partnerships with banking institutions,” she said.
Said Amongi: “We initially signed agreements with five commercial banks, which dispensed working capital in excess of sh26b. By September 2024, sh18.98 billion had been lent out to 1,193 women entrepreneurs through Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs).”
The PFI’s include Centenary, Post Bank, Finance Trust Bank, DFCU bank and Equity bank. Stanbic Bank was cleared to take part in the project by the GFF Awards Committee at its May 2024 meeting. It was later on cleared by the World Bank to participate in the GROW Financing Facility.
The process of contracting is ongoing and thereafter disbursements will follow in line with the agreed allocation.
Amongi said that women entrepreneurs who will pay back their loans as scheduled, halfway through their loan period will receive a grant/reduction of their loan value by 5%.
“As affirmative action, refugee women and those in refugee host communities that will pay well, will also receive a grant of 8% of their loan value, while women entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities and those from Karamoja, Busoga and Bukedi regions will receive grants of 10% of their loan value as a reward for good performance,” she says.
She added that working with the PFI’s, the Government is going to make deliberate efforts to improve awareness and mobilization of women in the under-served areas to improve uptake and equity.
Dr Ruth Aisha Biyinzika Kasolo, the GROW project coordinator, having a word with President Museveni
Dr Ruth Aisha Biyinzika Kasolo, the GROW project coordinator, said they are soon bringing onboard Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), and Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) to serve women entrepreneurs who may not have access to the traditional banking services.
She said they have prompted the PFI to give out loans with an interest rate of between 10% and 10.5% per annum, where Level 1 loans range between sh4m-sh20m, level 2 loans between sh20m-sh40m, and Level 3 loans of between sh40-200m.
Dr Biyinzika further disclosed that their target, which includes both the women entrepreneurs that are refugees and women entrepreneurs in the 13 designated Refugee-hosting Districts, has borne a lot of fruit.
Women are paying back
Several managers of participating PFI’s Habari Daily talked to said that women who have borrowed money under the GROW Project are servicing their loans well.
“So far, 90 percent of women who have borrowed under GROW are servicing their loans well, with the remaining ones also catching up. As soon as they finish, we will be able to lend money to other applicants since this is a revolving fund,” said Priscilla Akora, PostBank’s Head of Marketing and Communications.
Priscilla Akora, PostBank’s Head of Marketing and Communications
Olivia Naggayi, a secretary at Rawi & Barre Stationers at Nasser Road, said she was able to access a GROW loan of sh42m through PostBank.
“I used my land agreement to secure this loan, payable in two years. I used the money to construct double room rentals in Makindye, Lusaka Kirombe. I plan to charge sh400,000 per rental by next month when the units will be fully complete,” she said in a recent interview.
Steady income
She said she invested some of the money to recapitalize her printing business at Nasser Road.
“Here we do calendars, magazines, car branding, posters, receipt books, banners, business cards, among others. I service my loan using some of this income,” she said.
Olivia Naggayi, a PostBank client and also secretary at Rawi & Barre Stationers at Nasser Road
Naggayi said she spends about sh1,922,616 monthly to service her loan.
“My income adequately covers that monthly amount, and I have not had any problems so far. I hope to complete in the two years I was given, and ask for another loan amount which I will use to purchase land,” she said.
Ronald Mugolo, the Centenary Bank manager for Kikuubo branch said they gave out loans ranging between sh5m-sh30m, and are still processing applications of the big applicants who had requested for up to sh200m.
Olivia Naggayi, a PostBank client
“The response to this product has been good due to the ample publicity it has received in the media. Our only plea is that PSFU and funders keep up with the pace of applicants by providing more funds,” he said in a recent interview.
Going by the overwhelming response received from the women entrepreneurs, it may necessitate an additional commitment from government and development partners to increase the size of the lending pool for the GROW financing facility.
