Ugandan women in business have asked the government of Uganda to create simpler avenues through which women can get substantial capital to grow their businesses.
The board chairperson at the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association, Sarah Chitakule, stated that, through its entities like the Uganda Development Bank, the government must create a window beyond the current general setup to allow women to receive funding that takes gender dynamics into account.
According to Chitakule, statistics indicate that women own 40% of all businesses in Uganda, but many have not expanded due to a lack of substantial capital.
She made these remarks while, on March 13, 2024, speaking at the annual Women Entrepreneurship Conference, organised in conjunction with the Uganda Development Bank.
“I would like to see UDP financing women entrepreneurs to go into male-dominated sectors. And that is the only way we are going to create a crop of women entrepreneurs who are small and medium-scale entrepreneurs, and we are not going to constantly have women remain at the lower end of the pyramid,” Chitakule stated.
She stated that women will not remain in the same conditions and that something has to be done to improve women’s businesses.
The head of legal at UDB, Sophie Nakandi, stated that they are aware of the challenges other underserved groups face and have already designed the relevant interventions to address the needs of underserved segments of society, including youth and women.
