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The conference aims to bridge the information gap, a key barrier faced by women in accessing affordable finance and the participation of women in the country’s development agenda.

The Uganda Development Bank Ltd (UDBL), the country’s national Development Finance Institution in partnership with Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Ltd (UWEAL) on Thursday held its inaugural Annual Women entrepreneurs conference, at Kampala Hotel Africana.

The conference aims to bridge the information gap, a key barrier faced by women in accessing affordable finance and the participation of women in the country’s development agenda.

Sophie Nakandi, the Company Secretary and Head legal in her remarks, noted that the Bank 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,” she said.

She said cognizant of the systemic challenges women in business face, including inadequate access to affordable-patient capital and business development services, the UDB established a specialized proposition, dubbed the UDB Special Programs, to address the specific financing needs of youth, SMEs and Women.

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 75 billion worth in loans.” Ms. Nakandi further explained.

Addressing the delegates, State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization Hon. Minster 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.”, she said.

Minister Anite added that; in an economy where women account for about 77 percent of the agricultural labor force, the sector that accounts for 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product {GDP), and about 40 percent of Uganda’s export earnings, we stay committed to ensuring that such opportunities reach every woman across Uganda.

The Board chairperson UWEAL, Sarah Kitakule, hailed UDB for offering tailor-made financial solutions aimed at providing low-cost and patient capital for Women entrepreneurs and facilitating Women owned businesses.

“Our partnership with UDB 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.” She said,

Delivering her keynote speech, Prof. 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.

The Conference ran under the theme; Accelerating women’s Economic Equality through financial and Non-financial Inclusion Opportunities for Ugandan Women. The conference brought together 200 registered women enterprises from all 14 UWEAL clusters in the country, as they shared experiences and explored opportunities.

Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL) was established in 1987, whose mandate is grounded in three core program areas; building strong women owned enterprises, networking and marketing linkages for businesswomen and advocating for policies that create an enabling environment for women to compete favorably in business.

Uganda Development Bank Limited (UDB) is the country’s national Development Finance Institution (DFI) with a mandate to accelerate socio-economic development in Uganda through sustainable financial interventions.