The Government of Uganda, in partnership with the World Bank, is intensifying efforts to equip women entrepreneurs with essential skills to effectively utilize Parish Development Model (PDM) funds. Region-wide trainings are currently underway, with a major session recently held in Soroti City.
The training, conducted by Enterprise Uganda under the World Bank-supported GROW (Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises) Project, brought together women entrepreneurs from across the Teso Sub-region.
The initiative aims to bridge knowledge and skills gaps that have historically limited women’s ability to grow businesses, manage loans responsibly, and transition from micro to medium-scale enterprises.
Charles Martin Bagoole, a training and business development specialist with the GROW Project, explained that the program was developed after studies revealed many women entrepreneurs lacked foundational business skills.
“Women needed more essential skills, mainly business skills, and others that are not strictly business but are very important for the success of any enterprise,” he said.
The Ministry of Gender and the World Bank commissioned comprehensive training modules delivered by Enterprise Uganda. Key modules include personal development, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, business management, customer relations, leveraging mobile technology for business, sustainability, and specialized support for refugees adapting as entrepreneurs.
Participants must already be engaged in business, ensuring the program targets active entrepreneurs. Bagoole emphasized that the initiative equips women to make informed financial decisions.
“After acquiring essential skills, a woman is able to understand whether she actually needs a loan or not. Before taking a loan, she must have a purpose for it—and a budget,” he said.
Partnering banks, through the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, also educate participants about available loan products and requirements.
Enterprise Uganda Executive Director, Charles Ocici, underscored the training’s significance amid Uganda’s ongoing national development.
“This country is at an interesting point where Uganda is working on infrastructure—roads, bridges, security. As we open up the country to the world, Ugandans must be ready to do business, to export, and to partner with investors,” he said.
Ocici described the GROW Project as a catalyst for economic transformation. “It is designed to propel businesswomen from microcredit levels of Shs4 million to Shs200 million, and eventually to joint ventures accessing investments worth billions. The ultimate goal is for women to compete in broader markets. The word ‘woman’ should not be limiting. What will matter is being a business operator who can play in any economy, anywhere,” he said.
Soroti City mayoral aspirant John Emmanuel Opio praised the project’s impact, highlighting its transformative effects on households.
“When a woman is empowered, children eat. When women invest, children go to school. And when development comes through women, the entire nation grows,” he said.
Several women in Soroti have already accessed GROW Project funds and invested in ventures such as animal fattening, contributing to local economic growth.
Participants expressed excitement about applying their new skills to utilize local resources more effectively. Merab Apolot, PDM chairperson for Serere, said the training had broadened their perspective.
“It has enabled us to see what we thought was useless. Our swamps—we are going to use them well, not for rice growing but for fish farming and insect farming. We can add value to our products,” she said.
Apollot added that abundant local crops such as cassava and maize, often sold cheaply, will now be processed and stored for higher profits.
“We are waking up from our sleep. We want to become stockists, add value, and sell our products better,” she said.
Although the GROW Project is scheduled to run until 2027, Apolot expressed hope for a second phase.
“We are going to encourage more women to join business because business is what a woman can do. A woman can keep money, invest money, and help the family,” she said.