Busoga Queen commits to support women businesses in new collaboration
Busoga Kingdom Second Deputy Prime Minister Osman Ahmed Noor (left), inspects some of the exhibitors during the 2024 PSFU Women’s Day Katale in Jinja City at the weekend. Photo / Courtesy
What you need to know:
- The Inhebantu says that while women and youth-led businesses are the majority, they remain at the bottom of the business pyramid
Busoga Queen, Inhebantu, Jovia Mutesi has said she will work with Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to uplift at least 10,000 businesses, key among them women-led in the Busoga sub-region through business development training, capacity building, market connections and sourcing cheap and patient capital.
In a speech read for her by Busoga Kingdom Second Deputy Prime Minister Osman Ahmed Noor during the 2024 PSFU Women’s Day Katale in Jinja City at the weekend, the Inhebantu noted that while women and youth-led businesses are the majority, they remain at the bottom of the business pyramid and their performance continues to be impeded by several unique challenges that must be addressed to achieve financial inclusion.
“I have been assured by PSFU that the Lead Firm Structure and GROW programmes will benefit at least 10,000 businesses in the Busoga sub-region. These projects will provide capital and other business development services to our women and youth,” she said, noting that the collaboration would be furthered by a memorandum of understanding through businesses which would be enlightened on what is required to benefit from available opportunities.
The 2024 PSFU Women’s Day Katale, which started on Friday and ended yesterday is implemented in partnership with Mastercard Foundation.
It attracted more than 200 exhibitors mainly drawn from the agriculture value chain, trade, ICT, art, and creatives.
Ms Sarah Kagingo, the PSFU vice chairperson noted that minus the Katale, Busoga-based businesses will benefit from other programmes implemented by PSFU and other partners such as Generating Growth Opportunities, Productivity for Women Enterprises, Investment for Industrial Transformation and Employment and Catalytic Fund, among others.
Ms Kagingo also urged other stakeholders, particularly financial institutions to design and roll-out well thought out well-thought-out products that meet the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises to accelerate economic growth and financial inclusion.
Busoga continues to be one of the poorest sub-regions in Uganda, which according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics, has the largest share of poor people (14 percent) due to high unemployment and high population density.
