LUUKA — Calls are mounting for a redesign of the Government of Uganda’s Growing Women Entrepreneurs (GROW) Project after new figures revealed extremely low uptake across the Busoga sub-region, despite the programme’s multi-million-dollar funding and wide national ambitions.
The programme, funded by the World Bank to the tune of USD 217 million and implemented through the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (Private Sector Foundation Uganda), is designed to support women entrepreneurs at the business take-off stage through affordable financing, skills training, formalisation support, and access to markets.
However, stakeholders say its current structure is excluding the very rural women it was meant to empower.
By March 2026, only 349 women across Busoga’s 13 districts had accessed the programme—figures described by local leaders as disproportionately low given the region’s large population of women in small-scale enterprise.
The disparities are stark. Kaliro District has recorded zero beneficiaries, Mayuge only seven, and Luuka fourteen. In contrast, urban centres such as Jinja City and Iganga have performed better, with 123 and 104 beneficiaries respectively.
Focal point persons in the region attribute the low uptake to two major constraints: strict financial requirements and limited access to banking infrastructure.
The programme requires a minimum loan threshold of UGX 2 million, disbursed through commercial banks, a condition many rural women cannot meet due to lack of collateral, financial literacy, and formal documentation.
Distance to banking facilities has also emerged as a key barrier, particularly in districts such as Kaliro where access to commercial bank branches is limited, making it costly and impractical for applicants to complete the process.
Janat Luwano, the GROW focal person for Luuka District, acknowledged that while repayment rates among beneficiaries have been strong, overall uptake remains far below expectations.
She noted that nine of the fourteen beneficiaries in her district have already repaid their loans, indicating strong potential if access barriers are addressed.
However, she pointed to financial constraints faced by rural women.
“A poor woman cannot put in her UGX 20,000 to and from as women get tired quickly,” she said.
In Mayuge District, focal person Susan Namuwooya said the figure of seven beneficiaries was not reflective of the district’s large population of women entrepreneurs.
“This number is still small according to number of women in business,” she said, adding that bank verification charges were also discouraging applicants.
Luuka District Woman Member of Parliament Annet Nabirye also called for a redesign of the programme, arguing that centralised management at regional level has made it difficult to identify and address district-specific challenges.
She proposed that funding be decentralised per district to improve accountability and access, and warned that some financial institutions were adding unauthorised conditions that go beyond programme guidelines.
Responding to the concerns, Paul Nuwagaba, Access to Finance Specialist at PSFU, said the programme had been widely misunderstood and that sensitisation campaigns were ongoing to improve uptake and correct misinformation.
He clarified that GROW is not limited to formal businesses, noting that informal enterprises are eligible and can be supported to formalise under the programme.
However, he stressed that the initiative is intended for women already engaged in entrepreneurship, not those starting entirely from scratch.
“Miss information has affected the project, this programme is not women starting business its only for women at the takeoff stage,” he said.
He also cautioned commercial banks against imposing loan processing fees, saying such charges are not permitted under the programme framework.
Moses Buwudhwikwe, Regional Project Officer for Eastern Uganda at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, urged women to take advantage of the broader components of the programme beyond credit, including skills training, apprenticeships, business competitions, and infrastructure support for common user facilities.
He said government had reorganised implementation into 19 sub-regions to improve coordination and accessibility.
However, he acknowledged ongoing delays in disbursement, noting that some participating banks were still holding undisbursed funds and needed to accelerate processing to meet programme timelines.
Despite its ambitious design and substantial funding, the GROW Project is now facing scrutiny over its effectiveness in reaching rural women entrepreneurs.
Stakeholders argue that unless structural bottlenecks are addressed—particularly banking requirements, decentralisation of funds, and accessibility—its impact risks remaining concentrated in urban centres rather than transforming livelihoods across Uganda’s rural economy.
