Linda Nabulwala in her shop in Mbale City
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I A GROW (Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises) loan transforms can go a long way towards transforming a health worker into a businesswoman.
It does this by providing accessible, low-interest capital and training that enables them to transition from informal or micro-level health services to sustainable, expanded business ventures.
This Ugandan government initiative, funded by the World Bank, has gone a long way towards helping health workers (such as nurses, midwives, or community health workers) move beyond reliance on salaries by financing the purchase of equipment, facility upgrades, and inventory for private practice or related enterprises.
One such outstanding story is that of forty-four-year-old Linda Nabulwala, also known as Musawo to most of her customers.
She is a resident of Namakwekwe parish, Link Road cell village in Mbale city. She recently signed up for a GROW loan from Finance Trust Bank to expand her business.
Nabulwala, who graduated with a diploma in medical laboratory studies from Jinja Medical School at Nalufenya, says she was unable to secure a job, even though she had excelled.
In 2016, she decided to apply for a sh5m loan from Finance Trust Bank, which she invested in her secondhand clothes’ business in Mbale city.
“My business primarily deals in baby clothes, shawls, overalls, bed sheets, baby receivers, and bed covers.
Nabulwala explains that her choice of business was based on the fact that people give birth almost every day, which creates an annual demand for baby clothes.
She has taken loans from Finance Trust Bank and other financial institutions to boost her business over the last eight years.
With the GROW loan, Nabulwala has increased her stock and even has four dedicated hawkers who vend her clothes, which has boosted her sales.
Nabulwala is one of several women, who have expanded their businesses using the GROW loan scheme.
The GROW Project is being implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD) and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).
It is aimed at growing women-owned enterprises from micro to small and small to medium scale.
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