6300 young women and men in Nwoya district, northern Uganda have been trained in fruit farming, modern agricultural practices as well as financial literacy, and entrepreneurial skills.

The beneficiaries were part of the Delight with the Youth project implemented by Private Sector Foundation Uganda, Delight Uganda Limited and supported by the Mastercard Foundation. They were identified from the community and underwent two and half years of theoretical and practical lessons from the Delight Farm Institute in Lungulu Sub County, Nwoya district.

Stephen Asiimwe, the PSFU Chief Executive Officer disclosed that the beneficiaries were supported under the Lead Firm Structure Young Africa Works Project which aims at transforming the economic livelihoods of individuals.

“I am excited to be here to witness the transformation that has happened in this place, thanks to our partnership with Delight Uganda. We are celebrating the founders of Delight Uganda, local authority and the community for embracing the project and making it work. But more importantly, we are celebrating giving value to primary products such as fruits and crops so that our people can earn a living and transform their communities,” Mr. Asiimwe said.

Apollo Mayanja, the Lead Firm Structure Project Lead said that the beneficiaries gained skills in growing fruits, mindset change, commercial agriculture, value addition, marketing, and managing finances. He further disclosed that the Lead Firm Structure project has so far unlocked at-least 90,000 new work opportunities for the youth out of the intended 300,000 jobs targeted by the end of 2025.

“We are looking at directing creating 300,000 jobs but remember for every job, we create, it also unlocks other opportunities. We believe that the 300,000 we will create will also create thousands of other jobs. That is our humble contribution to addressing the unemployment issue in Uganda,” Mr. Mbaziira said.

Dr. Julian Adyeri, the chief executive officer of Delight Uganda noted that the project that sits on two square miles in Anaka, Nwoya district now supports a community school, fruits & trees nurseries, and cereals plantations, in addition to dormitories, irrigation schemes and silos storage facilities.

“We thank PSFU and Mastercard Foundation for this intervention. The hundreds of young women and men that have benefited from this project continue to transform their communities in different ways. We nonetheless acknowledge that this is just the start and much more deliberate efforts must be implemented if our country is to achieve total transformation,” Dr. Adyeri said.

Minus the over 6,000 job opportunities created by this project, Delight Uganda has a skilling institute where 12,167 (71 per cent being women) have received practical/hands-on training on selected business development modules.

Twenty-Six-year-old Milly Oroma, one of the direct beneficiaries from this project testified that the knowledge she attained from the Delight Uganda project has transformed her from a poor single mother into a confident, self-sustaining and productive business lady.

“I am now able to take care of myself, pay my kid’s school fees, support my parents and live calmly without worrying about what to eat tomorrow. My dream is to become as successful as Dr. Adyeri and create opportunities for hundreds of youth that are suffering like I used to,” Oroma said.

The Guest of Honour, Col. Charles Okello Engola, the state minister for Labour and Gender applauded Delight Uganda, PSFU and Mastercard Foundation for their contribution to Uganda’s economic transformation. He pledged the government’s support towards interventions aimed at addressing unemployment and closing the poverty gap.

“We are all inspired by how Dr. Adyeri and her team have transformed this place from a poor unknown village into an income generating hub. The impact this project has had on young people is wonderful. The Nwoya youth are very lucky for this project. We now need to recreate similar projects across the country. As a government, we are ready to partner with all stakeholders on matters of youth empowerment, jobs creation and poverty alleviation. We are committed to creating a conducive working environment for our Youth and Women.”

Brendah Ankunda, the PSFU Investment Specialist in charge of crops noted that 56 per cent of those that took part in this training were women, adding that the beneficiaries will now be primary producers of mangoes, citrus, and guavas for the Delight Factory that will process them in to juice and other value added products. She disclosed that the training was done in cohorts of between 100 to 200 trainees within the two and half years.

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Equity Bank Uganda has launched a new product called Equi-mama, which is a credit facility designed to support women entrepreneurs in rural Uganda. The aim of the product is to provide affordable capital, business skills training, mentoring, networking opportunities, and tools to help women succeed in business. The product was launched at the Ntungamo Municipal Grounds, with First Lady and Minister for Education Janet Museveni praising the bank for creating a product specifically for women. Mrs. Museveni also highlighted the challenges faced by women in accessing credit facilities, particularly due to the lack of collateral and limited financial literacy.

Equity Bank Managing Director, Anthony Kituuka, affirmed that the Equi-mama proposition has been designed to address the unique needs of women at the micro-level. The bank conducted extensive research to understand the financial challenges faced by women at the bottom of the economic pyramid and how to overcome these challenges. The product offers unsecured loans ranging from UGX5m to UGX40m, as well as insurance for maternity, life, catastrophe, fire, and temporary or permanent disability. Equity Bank also provides free financial and entrepreneurial literacy training to help women overcome hurdles such as record-keeping, accounting, and long-term business planning.

Equi-mama was first developed in 2021 to address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Equity Bank has already trained over 89,000 women in various aspects of business development and growth and given loans to over 20,000 women in various groups under the program. The bank’s support for women entrepreneurs includes tailored business advisory sessions, advanced business workshops, networking, and linking them to financial services, investments, and markets.

Before the product launch, Mrs. Museveni opened the new Equity Ntungamo branch, bringing the total number of branches to 50. Equity Bank operates in six East African countries and Ethiopia. The Equi-mama product is accessible to women of all backgrounds and income levels, offering flexible payment options and no application fees to make it easier for women to access the bank’s services.

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Non-Governmental Organisations play a critical role in the socioeconomic development of a country, whether that be the creation of a citizen agency or creating employment for thousands of citizens. In the execution of these and more roles, NGOs come across multiple hurdles which oftentimes require the intervention of and response of financial institutions.

It was against this background that Dfcu Bank held a successful breakfast meeting for Non-Governmental Organizations at Hotel Africana in Kampala, bringing together participants from various NGOs across multiple areas of work from across the country.

Godfrey Mundua, Head Corporate Banking at Dfcu, highlighted the Bank’s commitment to supporting NGOs in Uganda to achieve their objectives, stating that “dfcu Bank recognizes the critical role NGOs play in driving social and economic development in Uganda. We are committed to providing the necessary support to enable these organizations to overcome the challenges they face and achieve their objectives.”

He also spoke about the Bank’s dedication to its vision to transform lives and businesses through innovative solutions and empowering people. 

“The road to recovery has not been easy for anyone, and the NGO sector has been particularly affected by the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our reason for hosting this meeting is to make the road to recovery shorter, less tedious, and to partner with NGOs as we figure out how to support your organizations to run sustainably now and in the future.” 

“We believe that partnerships and collaborations are key to achieving sustainable development. We, therefore, urge NGOs to take advantage of this opportunity and engage with each other and with dfcu Bank to explore ways of working together to drive social and economic development in Uganda,” Mundua added.

The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Moses Isooba, Executive Director of Uganda National NGO Forum called on dfcu to increase its interactions with NGOs, to assist the latter in increasing their access to funding. In addition to the co-creation of socially-responsible infrastructure, Dr. Isooba noted that this would “…create community-benefiting solutions and programs.”

At the event, Julius Kateera, Head Financial Markets at dfcu Bank gave a Macroeconomic overview presentation, detailing what is happening in the economy locally, regionally, and globally while Robinah Nanjego Muhinda, Relationship Manager Corporate Banking made a detailed presentation on the dfcu NGO Customer Value Proposition. 

Non-Governmental Organisations play a critical role in the socioeconomic development of a country, whether that be the creation of a citizen agency or creating employment for thousands of citizens. In the execution of these and more roles, NGOs come across multiple hurdles which oftentimes require the intervention of and response of financial institutions.

It was against this background that dfcu Bank held a successful breakfast meeting for Non-Governmental Organizations at Hotel Africana in Kampala, bringing together participants from various NGOs across multiple areas of work from across the country.

Godfrey Mundua, Head Corporate Banking at dfcu, highlighted the Bank’s commitment to supporting NGOs in Uganda to achieve their objectives, stating that “dfcu Bank recognizes the critical role NGOs play in driving social and economic development in Uganda. We are committed to providing the necessary support to enable these organizations to overcome the challenges they face and achieve their objectives.”

He also spoke about the Bank’s dedication to its vision to transform lives and businesses through innovative solutions and empowering people. 

“The road to recovery has not been easy for anyone, and the NGO sector has been particularly affected by the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our reason for hosting this meeting is to make the road to recovery shorter, less tedious, and to partner with NGOs as we figure out how to support your organizations to run sustainably now and in the future.” 

“We believe that partnerships and collaborations are key to achieving sustainable development. We, therefore, urge NGOs to take advantage of this opportunity and engage with each other and with dfcu Bank to explore ways of working together to drive social and economic development in Uganda,” Mundua added.

The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Moses Isooba, Executive Director of Uganda National NGO Forum called on dfcu to increase its interactions with NGOs, to assist the latter in increasing their access to funding. In addition to the co-creation of socially-responsible infrastructure, Dr. Isooba noted that this would “…create community-benefiting solutions and programs.”

At the event, Julius Kateera, Head Financial Markets at dfcu Bank gave a Macroeconomic overview presentation, detailing what is happening in the economy locally, regionally, and globally while Robinah Nanjego Muhinda, Relationship Manager Corporate Banking made a detailed presentation on the dfcu NGO Customer Value Proposition. 

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