Ugandan women-led green businesses to benefit from new affordable credit facility

KAMPALA, Uganda — Hundreds of women-led green businesses across Uganda are set to benefit from a new affordable credit facility following a partnership between Finance Trust Bank and the Initiative for I&P Entrepreneurs & Development.

The agreement, signed Thursday, addresses the systemic barriers faced by female entrepreneurs in the East African nation by introducing a loan guarantee mechanism designed to lower collateral requirements.

The program specifically targets 40 ventures in its first year, focusing on sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management and the circular economy.

Access to credit is a vital enabler, said Percy Lubega, head of marketing at Finance Trust Bank. Many enterprises struggle without it. This partnership gives us renewed hope for the future, ensuring we can lend to businesses while promoting environmental sustainability.

Under the terms of the deal, the bank will offer loans averaging 93 million shillings ($24,000) at interest rates below 20%. The facility includes a grace period of up to six months and reduces the minimum collateral requirement to approximately 50%, a significant shift for sectors traditionally viewed as high-risk by commercial lenders.

The initiative is part of the broader I&P Women in Entrepreneurship for Africa program, which also operates in Senegal, Togo and Cameroon.

Supporting women in the green sector, especially in sustainable agriculture, is at the core of Finance Trust Bank’s strategy, said Barbara Adolehoume, program manager for the WFEA program. Through the WFEA program and I&P, we aim to lower the barriers women face in meeting the criteria to secure these loans.

The partnership marks a deepening of ties between the two institutions. Raphaël Dumont, director of acceleration programs at I&P, noted that the organization has been a shareholder in the bank since 2005.

Investisseurs & Partenaires, the parent group of the nonprofit implementing partner IETP, has financed more than 300 companies in 25 African countries over the last two decades, managing nearly 500 million euros in investments.

While Finance Trust Bank will manage loan appraisal and disbursement, I&P will be responsible for validating that applicants meet the criteria for being both women-led and environmentally compliant.

The program is open to eligible businesses nationwide, with applications processed in cohorts over a four-to-eight-week timeline.