The Uganda Development Bank Ltd (UDBL), the country’s national development finance institution has said that in the past two years, it has injected shs75 billion into women-led businesses in the country.
Speaking during the inaugural annual women entrepreneurs conference held at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Sophie Nakandi, the head of legal at UDB said the bank has continued to be resolute about delivering its mandate of accelerating socio- economic development in Uganda.
“We are deliberate about addressing the constraints to the country’s sustainable development. To do this, we continue to design appropriate interventions and solutions that address the needs of the underserved segments in our society, thereby facilitating financial inclusion and economic equality,” Nakandi said.
She explained that launched in December 2021, UDB’s intervention for women continues to grow enterprise assets and revenue, create employment, and redistribute wealth across all the sub-regions of Uganda.
“Under the women financing segment, (women prosper loans) the bank has in the last two years supported 72 enterprises in over 40 districts and approved shs75 billion worth in loans.”
The State Minister for Finance in charge of Investment and Privatization, Evelyn Anite applauded UDB and UWEAL for this inaugural conference as it symbolizes efforts to address these structural barriers.
“The government’s commitment as outlined in Vision 2040 and National Development Plan III, underscores gender equality as a cross-cutting enabler for socio-economic transformation.”
“In an economy where women account for about 77% of the agricultural labor force, the sector that accounts for 24% of the GDP, and about 40% of Uganda’s export earnings, we stay committed to ensuring that such opportunities reach every woman across Uganda.”
The board chairperson of UWEAL, Sarah Kitakule hailed UDB for offering tailor-made financial solution aimed at providing low-cost and patient capital for Women entrepreneurs and facilitating Women owned businesses.
“Our partnership with Uganda Development Bank further increases our footprint and impact in the country. Through business development service, women entrepreneurs develop the knowledge and skills necessary to grow and sustain their businesses.”
Delivering her keynote speech, Dr. Maggie Kigozi reiterated the power of building synergies in business, for women to achieve economic equality, further noting that in such gatherings, women should learn from each other and build networks to propel their businesses.
