By James Alomu

Pride Bank has launched the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises project (GROW) in Soroti City, aimed at boosting women’s economic participation by tackling harmful social norms and improving access to finance for women entrepreneurs.

Supported by the world Bank and government of Uganda , the initiative provides loans from 4 million to 200 million alongside business training to support sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.

Ms Veronica Namagembe, the MD Pride bank, says the launch marks a significant milestone in pride's continued commitment to driving financial inclusion and supporting grassroots economic development across Uganda.

Ms Namagembe points that the GROW financing facility is expected to empower individuals and enterprises with flexible financing solutions tailored to meet real business needs, enabling them to expand operations, increase productivity and create employment opportunities.

"From the business standpoint, the GROW financing facility is about meeting customers where they are, we have designed this product to be practical, responsive and aligned with real business needs on the ground," Ms Namagembe said.

She also encouraged women to form cooperatives so they can benefit from large-scale loans of about Shs 5 billion to grow specific crops such as maize, soybeans, beans, and sorghum.

Ms Namagembe further advised men to support their wives, saying, “I believe that where there is a happy woman, there is a happy man, a happy family, a happy community, and a happy nation.”

Mr Moses Buwudhwike, the Regional Project Officer for the Eastern Region, said that negative social norms continue to affect women, noting that they are often not allowed to travel far to do business even though reaching distant markets is key to growth.

"You find that women will always work within and yet they need to move further to look for better markets," Mr Buwudhwike said.

Mr Buwudhwike said that 11,348 women have so far been trained in different enterprises. He added that 186 institutions nationwide have been selected to deliver the training, and 42 are in the final stages of receiving grants to boost their businesses.

He however, encouraged women to join male-dominated jobs, saying that there are grants specifically intended for them. He urged them not to fear entering these sectors, as it is one way to drive their economic growth.

"Women can join male dominated jobs like metal and fabrication, welding, construction so that they can benefit from the grant,"Mr Buwudhwike mentioned.
Ms Damlie Asekenye, the Chairperson of the GROW Project Focal Persons in Teso, said that implementation of the project was very difficult for local women at first and that accessing funds was not easy. She expressed happiness that Pride Bank has now made it easier for them.

"The conditions to access these funds have been so stringent to enable the local woman access it," She said.

She said that since Pride came on board, a number of beneficiaries have joined, and she urged other women to do the same.

Some of the beneficiaries, including Ms. Pamela Aluro, who deals in beverages, said she feels no pressure repaying the loan. She added that her business has grown significantly and she can now pay her children’s school fees with ease.

"With this loan my business has expanded and now i have a lot of products in my shop," she said.

However the RCC of Soroti City, John Michael Okurut, expressed disappointment with the GROW funds at the initial stages, noting that they lacked knowledge and understanding of the project.

He said that banks at the time did not directly involve community development officers, which made accountability records difficult to access. He added that the banks implementing the project were not at all comparative.

Mr Okurut cautioned PRIDE Bank not to treat the funds as capital for its own activities, saying there should be a clear distinction and that women must be able to access the money.

On the other hand Mr ames Robert Otim, the LC V Ngora district encouraged women to utilize the funds from grow to properly requesting that pride bank should roll out the program through the agent bank to reach out the rural women.

He also appealed to some SACCOs to embrace agent banking so that rural women can easily access the funds. Otherwise, many rural women remain unaware of the product.

"Bringing some few Sacco's on boards to embrace agent bank could make many women in the rural areas to access the funds," Mr Otim.

Hon. Moses Attan, the Soroti City East MP, pledged to support every government program intended to benefit the people, and thanked Pride Bank for doing it differently.

Moses Attan said it was a wise move by government, and expressed belief that the funds will help women entrepreneurs scale their businesses. He added that women would be able to formalize and dignify their operations, invest in proper equipment, and reduce the burden of high rent by owning or upgrading their own workspaces.