Christine Muheirwe turns Shs55m GROW loan into Nakivale restaurant employing 12

What the report says

Christine Muheirwe, a businesswoman in Bukanga, Nakivale in Isingiro District, has converted a Shs55 million loan from the GROW programme into a restaurant and catering venture that now employs 12 people. According to Watchdog Uganda, Muheirwe said she accessed the financing through Opportunity Bank after hearing about the facility from the bank.

In an interview on 23 September 2026, she credited the GROW Project for helping her start the business and said the restaurant now supports five men and seven women who earn income from its operations. She also said she has not encountered community-related difficulties since opening the restaurant in Nakivale.

The report says a company profile linked to the enterprise lists BAMA General Supplies Ltd, based in Bukanga, Nakivale, with activities including catering, car hire and general supplies. However, the article notes that the profile alone does not confirm Muheirwe’s ownership of that company.

GROW is a women-focused financing programme run by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, and funded by the World Bank. More broadly, the initiative is designed to help women-owned businesses expand access to capital and grow into more sustainable enterprises, making Muheirwe’s case an example of how the loans are being used at the local level.