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Business owners, especially women entrepreneurs, are urging the government to make financing more affordable for women-led businesses.
Stella Nasikwe, a hardware business owner, says a lot of hurdles exist in accessing affordable credit, stressing that current loan interest rates are too high for small business owners to thrive.
Nasikwe, who benefited from the GROW (Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises) project, shared her positive experience in securing a loan from Centenary Bank.
She used the loan to purchase a delivery lorry, which has significantly boosted her business. However, she pointed out that loans available on the market are often far too expensive.
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“I had just gotten another loan the previous year from a microfinance institution, and they gave it to me at 34% interest. This is just too expensive for us as business people,” she said.
Nasikwe expressed a strong desire for the government to make funds like those from the GROW project more accessible to women across the country.
She believes that the affordable financing provided by such programmes is critical for women entrepreneurs to expand and grow their businesses.
The GROW project, launched by the Government of Uganda, aims to empower women-owned micro and small-scale enterprises by providing access to finance, infrastructure support, and business skills development.
To qualify for funding under the programme, businesses must be women-owned, with at least 51% of shares held by a woman. The project targets over 60,000 women entrepreneurs, including those in refugee communities, and has already disbursed nearly UGX 19 billion to 1,193 women entrepreneurs.
Despite these advancements, there are calls for further support to make affordable financing more readily available.
The GROW project continues to collaborate with commercial banks, and strategic partnerships are in place to improve access to credit.
However, the high-interest rates on many loans remain a barrier for many aspiring women entrepreneurs, who seek more favourable terms to help their businesses flourish.