In Focus: Some key resources like schemes, policies and funds that empower Ugandan women to launch, sustain & grow their businesses
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Uganda which is often referred to as the “Pearl of Africa” is a powerhouse of entrepreneurship, with women playing a significant role in shaping the nation’s business landscape. Uganda has a strong culture of entrepreneurship & is one among seven countries worldwide that has achieved gender parity, in terms of the number of women driven to pursue entrepreneurial activities.
And, as one of the few countries worldwide to achieve gender parity in entrepreneurship, Uganda stands apart for its dynamic and resilient female-led businesses. Women entrepreneurs are driving innovation across various sectors – from agriculture and retail to technology and manufacturing.
However, despite this progress, women in Uganda face challenges such as – limited access to funding, business networks & mentorship. The decline in female labour force participation, particularly among young urban women, and the economic impact of COVID-19 have further highlighted the need for targeted support.
Breaking Barriers: How women entrepreneurs are shaping Uganda’s economy
Fortunately, numerous resources – including financial programs, training initiatives & government-backed policies – are available to help women entrepreneurs thrive.
Now, let us explore some key resources that empower Ugandan women to launch, sustain, and grow their businesses, contributing to economic development and gender equality.
> Empowerment of Women in Uganda
The Government of Uganda has put in place five programmes to improve empowerment of women: Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program (UWEP); Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP); Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE); as well as investment in infrastructure that is benefiting women in rural areas.
There is the Presidential Initiative of Skilling the Girl child.
Stakeholders’ Focus: Stakeholders that include Government, UN Agencies and Civil Society Organisations are jointly working and have set up varied programmes in the areas of: Entrepreneurship development; ICT; Career, talent and personal development for the youth; Gender responsive governance; Mentorship; Leadership; Equality and decision making; as well as Providing empowerment Funds.
Plus there are these additional bodies that help too:
KACITA Women’s League (KAWEL) – Empowering women through a combination of channels
National Women’s Council (NWC) – Supports the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship (UWEP) and other programmes
Council for Economic Empowerment for Women of Africa – Uganda Chapter (CEEWA- U) – Support for women and youth, especially in leadership
Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) – improves access to financial services for women and equips them with skills for enterprise growth, value addition and marketing of their products and services.
https://www.womenconnect.org/web/uganda/empowerment
> GLOW
What will it take to help women entrepreneurs reach their full potential in Uganda, where
women own one in three of all businesses yet tend to run businesses that are smaller and operate in less profitable sectors than those of men? A growing body of impact evaluation literature on what has already worked to help empower women across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond may help us unearth some answers.
The new International Development Association (IDA) operation, Generating Livelihoods and Opportunities for Women (GLOW) in Uganda, is designed to support women entrepreneurs across the country.
Uganda’s female labor force participation rate is also high compared to other Sub- Saharan countries, but has been falling since 2012, especially among young urban women. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a profound negative impact on Uganda’s labor markets, affecting women more than men with larger work stoppages in urban areas and in non-agriculture sectors in Uganda, that seeks to support women entrepreneurs across the country.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/11/women-entrepreneurs-uganda-policy/
> Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP)
Here it is all about unlocking the business potential of the Ugandan woman. The Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) is an initiative of the Government of Uganda. It aims to improve access to financial services for women and equip them with skills for enterprise growth, value addition and marketing of their products and services.
UWEP, implemented as a Rolling Programme under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) – is driven to empower Ugandan women for economic development.
The Programme is specially designed to address the challenges women face in undertaking economically viable enterprises – including the limited access to affordable credit, limited technical knowledge and skills for business development, limited access to markets as well as information regarding business opportunities.
And, it is envisaged – to increase participation of women in business development, increase their incomes, livelihood security & overall quality of life.
> GROW Project
The Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project is a Government of Uganda Project, funded by the World Bank, and implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda in all districts, Municipalities and Cities. The objective is centred round increasing access to Entrepreneurial Services that enable female Entrepreneurs to grow their Enterprises from micro to small and small to medium in targeted locations, including the Refugee host districts.
Tracing the background, GROW project is a Government of Uganda initiative that emerged out of the need to respond to the needs of women entrepreneurs, who want to grow their businesses, sustain their self-employment and create more jobs. The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to increase access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their enterprises in targeted locations, including in refugee hosting districts (RHDs).
The mandate of the GROW Project is – to increase access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses
> Rising Woman
The sixth edition of Rising Woman was launched – an initiative that aims to recognize, celebrate, and promote a culture of mentorship among women in the business space in Uganda.
Rising Woman is an initiative of the Uganda Investment Authority, DFCU Bank, Daily Monitor & Uganda Airlines.
The Rising Woman initiative focuses on providing women entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills & abilities – to improve how they operate their businesses and to enable them to create profitable operations.
The Rising Woman Initiative was first launched in 2018 and has had five successful editions. Over the years, Rising Woman has directly benefited more than 60,000 women and over 1 million more, virtually, through a range of programs that included regional power training, Live TV talk shows, proposal writing competitions, and mentorship trips within the region.
The Rising Woman Initiative provides an avenue – to work with diverse women to turn business ideas into reality and act as agents of change in their communities whilst addressing the ever-growing challenges they face.
It is linked to DFCU’s Women in Business (WiB) Program and UIA’s Domestic Investment Division mission of creating a business-enabling environment for women entrepreneurs, with a special focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
It offers women in business the opportunity – to receive training, recognition, exposure, access to a mentorship program, and WiB program support. And ten winners are selected from all business and investment categories.
https://www.ugandainvest.go.ug/empowering-women-entrepreneurs-rising-woman-
season-6-launched/
> The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Initiative
The U.S. Mission, through the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program, has supported Ugandan women in business since its launch in 2019 – providing training, mentorship, and resources to empower them in entrepreneurship. The initiative has reached the country’s key areas – including Kampala, Jinja, Mbale, Arua, Gulu, Lira, Kabarole, and Mbarara, transforming the landscape of women-led enterprises.
The US government, in partnership with SHONA Group, Kustawi Africa, iProfile Foundation, and Ramela Foundation, hosted Uganda’s first-ever AWE Alumnae Conference under the theme “Celebrating Uganda’s Women Entrepreneurs.” The event brought together nearly 300 alumnae, mentors, investors, and stakeholders to celebrate the remarkable achievements of Ugandan women entrepreneurs and strengthen networks for continued growth.
https://www.independent.co.ug/u-s-mission-initiative-empowers-748-women-
entrepreneurs-in-uganda/
> The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF)
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is Africa’s leading champion of entrepreneurship, and conducts Entrepreneurship Programmes. Aspiring and existing entrepreneurs from across Africa are invited to apply for a chance to receive world-class training, expert mentoring, and non-refundable seed capital funding to scale their businesses.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and increasing women economic empowerment.
Founded in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is committed to empowering African entrepreneurs as a catalyst for the continent’s economic transformation.
Programmes open for Application are:
1. Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme: the flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is open to all entrepreneurs across Africa with innovative business ideas or existing businesses not older than five years. This year, there is a special emphasis on businesses leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and green initiatives. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
2. IYBA-WE4A Entrepreneurship Programme: Launched by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in partnership with the European Union (EU) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), IYBA-WE4A stands for Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Women Entrepreneurship for Africa and is exclusively for women entrepreneurs with green business ideas or existing green businesses in Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, and Togo. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, with businesses not exceeding five years in operation.
3. Aguka Ideation Programme: The Aguka Ideation Entrepreneurship Programme is a partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, UNDP Rwanda and the Rwandan Ministry of Youths and Arts to support young Rwandan entrepreneurs between 18 -30 with business ideas with a seed capital of $3000, with the aim of nurturing and developing innovative concepts into viable enterprises.
> Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL)
Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL) was established in 1987, whose mandate is grounded in 3 core program areas – Building strong women-owned enterprises, networking and marketing linkages for business women and advocating for policies that create an enabling environment for women to compete favorably in business.
The association is currently firmly placed in the private sector to assist and provide the necessary support and guidance to women in business and to advocate for favorable policies through which women entrepreneurs can flourish.
UWEAL is one voice for business women with the aim of advocating for conducive business environment for business women. UWEAL is a power-house for women in business, and have over the years, built strong partnerships with the Government and development partners, playing key role in contributing to gender responsive policies.
UWEAL has spearheaded the transformation of the landscape that gives women in business a voice to show case that women are as capable to start and run a business as much as men.
> POWER in Uganda
POWER (Providing Opportunities for Women in Entrepreneurship & Reproductive Health), is a new start-up accelerator project, which was first implemented in Uganda by Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) in collaboration with Action 4 Health Uganda (A4HU).
POWER is a transformative initiative that aims to empower women entrepreneurs (18- 30 years) and foster the creation of innovative businesses, that will positively influence the supply and demand of family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights (FP/SRHR) information, services, and products. By focusing on the intersection of entrepreneurship and start-up growth, reproductive health, and technology, the project has achieved remarkable success during its pilot phase and has ambitious plans for further expansion into 2025.
POWER is an accelerator project that was first implemented in Uganda (2022/3) by Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) in collaboration with our partner Action 4 Health Uganda (A4HU). POWER is a transformative initiative that aims to empower women entrepreneurs and drive sustainable development in Uganda. By focusing on the intersection of entrepreneurship and start-up growth, reproductive health and technology, the project has achieved remarkable success in its pilot phase and has ambitious plans for further expansion.
https://www.dsw.org/en/project/power/
Avtar Madan
Himanshu
Shree Lahiri
Poonam Sinha
