Learn to tell your own success stories- Minister Anite urges women

The state minister for Finance in charge of Privatization and Investment, Evelyn Anite has said it is high time women learnt how to share their own success stories for the entire world to know.

“The few of us( women) who have been able to succeed should tell and amplify their own success stories to inspire fellow women. No body is going to wake us up from our beds to tell our own stories,” Anite said.

She was speaking during the first ever  annual women entrepreneurs conference organized by Uganda Development Bank (UDB) in partnership with Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Ltd (UWEAL) at Hotel Africana in Kampala.

The conference was organised under the theme, "Accelerating women economic equality through financial and non-financial inclusion opportunities for Ugandan women.

Anite insisted that whereas women were empowered, many of them have been left behind and need inspiration from each other’s success stories.

“The few of us who have woken up should be an example for the others who are still lagging behind. By sharing success stories, many other will wake up and start making money. This way the woman’s status in society will be uplifted. You will start seeing women being asked to chair meetings but this can only happen when we are empowered.  You won’t hear a poor woman asked to chair a meeting.”

Former Uganda Investment Authority Executive Director, Dr.Maggie Kigozi, who is also a businesswoman tipped women on succeeding in whatever they do.

“Ladies, know that there is nothing you can’t do. You can do everything as long as you focus on it. No sector is for only men. Don’t despise yourselves but tap into every sector,” Dr.Kigozi said.

“Support yourselves as women and look up for opportunities that you can always take up. Make partnerships but above all, have family businesses where you need to introduce your children. Make the children shareholders in the business and this way they will be interested in running it or else they will wait for you to die and sell it.”

The UDB head of legal, Sophie Nakandi said in an effort to deliver its mandate of accelerating socio-economic development of Uganda, women have not been left behind.

“We are deliberate about addressing the constraints to the country's sustainable development. To do this, we continue to design appropriate interventions and solutions that address the needs of the underserved segments in our society, thereby facilitating financial inclusion and economic equality."

“Cognisant of the systemic challenges women in business face, including inadequate access to affordable-patient capital and business development services, the bank established a specialized proposition, dubbed the UDB Special Programs, to address the specific financing needs of youth, SMEs and women,” she added.

Launched in December 2021, UDB’s intervention for women continues to grow enterprise assets and revenue, create employment, and redistribute wealth across all the sub-regions of Uganda.

“Under the women financing segment, (Women Prosper loans) the bank has in the last two years supported 72 enterprises in over 40 districts and approved shs75 billion worth in loans,” Nakandi further explained.

The board chairperson UWEAL, Sarah Kitakule hailed UDB for offering tailor-made financial solution aimed at providing low-cost and patient capital for Women entrepreneurs and facilitating Women owned businesses.

“Our partnership with Uganda Development Bank further increases our footprint and impact in the country. Through business development service, women entrepreneurs develop the knowledge and skills necessary to grow and sustain their businesses,” She said.