Overview:
Equity Bank Uganda has extended the World Bank-backed GROW Project to Buvuma, offering women entrepreneurs loans of Shs1m to Shs100m and business training.
BUVUMA – Women entrepreneurs in the island district of Buvuma can now get loans, financial literacy training and business support under the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project, after Equity Bank Uganda took the programme to the district.
The GROW Project is a government initiative supported by the World Bank and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU). It aims to help women get financial and business development services to start, strengthen and expand their enterprises. Equity Bank Uganda is one of the participating financial institutions.
Nelson Mugisha, the enterprise development manager at Equity Bank Uganda, said the bank moved into Buvuma after PSFU and the participating lenders reviewed the project’s coverage across the country.
“The review established that the project had already reached 134 of Uganda’s 136 districts, leaving Buvuma and Otuke as the only districts yet to benefit. We are pleased to be part of the effort to bridge that gap and ensure women entrepreneurs in these districts can also access the opportunities available under the programme,” Mugisha said.
Under the project, eligible women can borrow between Shs1 million and Shs100 million, depending on their business needs and loan category.
Mugisha, however, said the programme offered more than credit.
“Many people think the GROW Project is only about loans, but there are several other opportunities available to women. We provide free financial literacy training, support business registration and formalisation, as well as business digitalisation,” he said.
The bank said its training covers budgeting, record keeping, debt management and business growth. Women are also supported to formalise their businesses.
To tackle the lack of collateral, which keeps many women from borrowing, the GROW framework allows married women to use their spouses’ collateral security when applying for loans, subject to applicable requirements.
Equity Bank said its work in Buvuma would complement other initiatives it is involved in within the district, including the National Oil Palm Project, where many women are engaged in commercial agriculture.
Silverstar Kagga, Equity Bank Uganda’s financial literacy trainer for the Eastern Region, said the bank was keen to ensure women in Buvuma were not left behind as the programme expanded.
“Buvuma was one of the districts that had not benefited from the GROW Project. Our focus was to ensure that women in the district also have an opportunity to access the financing, skills and support available under the programme,” Kagga said.
He said interest from women already in the National Oil Palm Project showed the need to bring GROW services closer to the island community.
Kagga urged the women to build a saving culture and to use digital banking. He said this would save them the cost and time of travelling long distances to reach banking services.
He also cautioned them to borrow responsibly by weighing their business needs and their ability to repay before taking loans. Women who do not qualify for GROW financing, he added, can still access other Equity Bank products designed for businesses.