Women entrepreneurs in Buvuma set to GROW with Equity Bank

What the report says

Women entrepreneurs in Buvuma district, an island area in Uganda, are set to receive support under the government’s Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project, according to The Independent Uganda. Equity Bank Uganda is one of the financial institutions helping deliver the programme, which is backed by the Government of Uganda, the World Bank and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda.

The report says the project’s extension to Buvuma follows a national review that found the initiative had reached 134 of Uganda’s 136 districts, leaving Buvuma and Otuke as the remaining areas not yet covered. Under the programme, eligible women entrepreneurs can access loans ranging from Shs1 million to Shs100 million, depending on their business category and needs.

Equity Bank said its role goes beyond lending. The bank is also offering free financial literacy training, support with business registration and formalisation, and help with digitalising enterprises. Staff involved in the outreach said the aim is to give women practical skills in budgeting, record keeping, debt management and business growth, while also making services easier to access in a hard-to-reach island district.

The initiative is intended to help women overcome common barriers to credit, including collateral constraints, and to complement other development work in Buvuma, including the National Oil Palm Project. More broadly, the move reflects a wider effort to expand women’s access to finance and business support in underserved parts of Uganda.