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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The state minister for Finance in charge of privatization Evelyn Anite has urged women in business to formalize their enterprises and be able to attract government and related support.
Anite was speaking at the inaugural annual women entrepreneurs’ conference on March 14 organized by the Uganda Development Bank Ltd, the country’s national Development Finance Institution in partnership with Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Ltd (UWEAL).
She said, “Separate your profit from capital from your books of accounts. Profit is for expansion. I do that in my business and it has worked. You have to look at your liabilities and know how to fund them.”
Anite said formalizing the business means attracting private capital, affordable financing and government support in terms of Parish Development Model and Emyooga programmes.
She urged UDB to support women in business given that “they are financially disciplined and like to grow systematically compared to their male counterparts.”
She pointed to key sectors of commercial agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and services as potential avenues for women entrepreneurs to do business and make money. She said, the government has and continues to provide opportunities for women in business in Uganda’s Namanve Industrial Park and in other industrial parks spread across the country.
The annual conference aimed at bridging the information gap, a key barrier faced by women in accessing affordable finance, and the participation of women in the country’s development agenda.
It was held under the theme; Accelerating women’s Economic Equality through financial and Non-financial Inclusion Opportunities for Ugandan Women, and brought together over 200 registered women enterprises from all 14 UWEAL clusters in the country as they shared experiences and explored opportunities.
Sophie Nakandi, the Company Secretary and Head of legal spoke on behalf of UDB said the lender remains 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.”
“Cognisant of the systemic challenges women in business face, including inadequate access to affordable-patient capital and business development services, the Bank established a specialized proposition, dubbed the UDB Special Programs, to address the specific financing needs of youth, SMEs, and Women,” she said.
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,” Nakandi said.
Women in Uganda 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.
