Busoga Women Entrepreneurs to Benefit from New Stanbic-Gates Foundation Initiative

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda reports that more than 30,000 low-income women entrepreneurs in Uganda’s Busoga sub-region are expected to benefit from a new Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme backed by the Busoga Kingdom, the Gates Foundation and Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited. The initiative was launched at the Busoga Kingdom headquarters in Bugembe, Jinja, and is designed to improve access to affordable finance, business support and digital financial services for women running nano and micro enterprises.

According to the report, the programme will combine credit with entrepreneurship training, financial literacy, digital skills, mentorship, insurance, savings products and market linkages. The partners say the approach is intended to address barriers that often keep women-owned informal and small businesses outside formal financial systems, including limited collateral, low financial literacy and products that may not match their needs.

Dr. Joseph Muvawala, the Katukiro of Busoga Kingdom, represented Kyabazinga William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV at the launch and said women’s economic empowerment is tied to wider family and community welfare. Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Stephen Segujja said the programme builds on the bank’s enterprise development work, including the Economic Enterprise Restart Fund and Stanbic For Her, which the article says have previously supported SACCOs and women entrepreneurs with financing and business services.

Stanbic Business Incubator Limited CEO Catherine Poran said enterprise development will be central to sustaining the initiative, while beneficiary Safinah Namukose, a trader from Buwenge, welcomed the support. The programme matters because women form a major part of Uganda’s micro and informal business sector, where access to suitable finance and business training can affect household incomes, job creation and local economic growth.