Standard Chartered Bank Uganda has unveiled SC Shilingi, a low-cost investment product which allows one to invest their savings in short-term money market funds that give an attractive rate of return.
With SC Shilingi, one can start saving with as little as Shs20,000.
Speaking at the launch of the product in Kampala on Wednesday, 21 June 2023, Sanjay Rughani, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Uganda, said SC Shilingi Fund can help support Uganda’s journey to middle income status.
“This product was designed for the Wanainchi. To give them access to products that can impact their lives in a positive way. That is why we have made the minimum investment as low as Ugx 20,000. Uganda deserves to become a middle-income country and we believe that this new product, the SC Shilingi Funds will be a great driver towards this target,” he said.
Moses Rutahigwa, Head of Consumer, Private and Business Banking at Standard Chartered Bank, said the product is part of their efforts to leverage technology to achieve financial inclusion.
“We needed to be able to reach investors who don’t have a lot of money to invest. To achieve this, we had to leverage our technological capability to make sure that SC Shilingi Funds reaches all interested investors with a smart phone,” he said.
“This product reflects the bank’s commitment to coming up with practical solutions to the modern challenges faced by this tech-savvy generation. I encourage the public to use such innovations to improve their financial situation,”
Keith Kalyegira, the CEO of Capital Markets Authority, said: “As the regulator, my responsibility is to make sure that the investors are protected from exploitation. I implore Ugandans to stay away from service providers who are not licensed and regulated by the Capital Markets Authority. I love the fact that this product has a low buy-in which makes it accessible to a lot of people.”
