Women in business to benefit fromShs1b fund
Centenary Bank’s Beatrice Lugalambi (L) and Hellen Tomusange pose with Ms Inez Murray (C), the chief executive officer Global Banking Alliance after receiving the Women’s Market Champion award in Brazil recently. The bank was recognised globally for its Supawoman Club women’s initiative aimed at empowering women financially. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
Recognised. Centenary Bank was recently awarded for its role in empowering women.
Kampala. More than Shs1b has been put aside by several funders to facilitate and develop the capacity of women in business and those aspiring to be in business.
The initiative code named Supawoman, targets women in all walks of life, particularly those with ambition to do business or already in business.
Women, according to the funders, among them Abi Trust, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Centenary Bank, are reliable business partners as well as better managers than their male counterparts.
And any form of support such as credit facilities will enhance their esteem and make them competitive.
Women better managers
The Centenary Bank supervisor for women banking, Ms Hellen Tomusange, told Daily Monitor yesterday that a decision to improve the capacity and nurture women in business, among other things, is informed by research findings showing women as better than men in management and doing business.
She said: “One of the problems facing women across the country especially those who are in business or want to do business is access to credit. Those who will be part of Supawoman initative will have that problem sorted out for them because our research shows women are better managers.”
She added: “Women are not as bad defaulters as men and so investing in them is much safer and so we can be able to provide them with unsecured loans to help them do business without worrying about security and other things that make it hard for them to access credit.”
Ms Tomusange who said more than Shs1b will be committed into the initiative by different partners.adding that already, about 1000 members, all of them women are benefiting from the initiative which includes insuring businesses done by the members of Supawoman.
Private Sector role
The Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) director for membership services, Ms Ruth Biyinzika Musoke, in an interview with the Daily Monitor said the apex body for the private sector in the country has been tasked with capacity development and other aspect that will enhance the competitiveness of women in business.
She said: “We will be working at improving the image of these businesswomen, enhance their presentation skills and encouraging them to keep healthy because to be successful in business, you must be in good shape of body and mind.”
Nina Interiors Ltd chief executive officer Alice Karugaba said women need to do more to succeed.
She, however, agreed that women must be supported and nurtured into business; an opportunity they said is a little more available these days than during their time decades ago.
“We did not have the opportunities to be nurtured or groomed. Probably if we had such chances the story could have been different now,” Ms Karugaba told Daily Monitor in an earlier interview.
Training
Meanwhile, capacity building (training in different fields) for those women who have already enrolled through Centenary Bank is underway. As part of the Supawoman initiative, several women gathered at Makerere SDA Church where they were drilled through financial literacy and why it is important for business.
