Rising Woman Initiative winners get awards

Three women-owned businesses have won Shs10m each under the Rising Woman Initiative.

The programme is run by Monitor in partnership with dfcu Bank and Uganda Investment Authority (UIA). 

The winners include APA Original Kisubi Tea Limited, which won the agri-business value addition category; Hebs Organic Limited, which won the manufacturing consumer services category, and Prio Medical Limited (My Musawo App) won the digital innovation and e-commerce category.

This year, the programme attracted a total of 182 women involved in business across seven districts. However, only 23 made it to the finals.

The Rising Woman Initiative is aimed at recognising, celebrating and promoting a culture of mentorship among female entrepreneurs in Uganda.

The proprietors of the three businesses have also secured an all-expenses-paid trip  to Nairobi, Kenya.   
Speaking at the awarding ceremony at dfcu Bank in Kampala last Friday, Mr Peter Okwir, a Monitor advertising official, said: “The winners will travel early next year around January. They will go through mentorship and learn from other successful women entrepreneurs in Nairobi.”

He added that this would expose them to various international business investment opportunities and strategic partnerships.

Ms Ruth Nasasira, the manager for Women in Business at dfcu Bank, said: “We started training, capacity building, and financial literacy for business entrepreneurs who are women to encourage profitable businesses and promote an enabling environment for women in businesses.” 

She said this is aimed at strengthening the bank as the financial partner for female entrepreneurs in the country.

The General Manager of NTV-Uganda, Mr Johnson Omolo, commended the exposure of women to various business opportunities through training.

“The challenge in business is the high cost of credit. We do hope for cheaper credit to women who venture into businesses through dfcu to give solutions to the mark up for overheads and profitability while dealing with loan credits,” he said. 

Ms Winne Lawoko Olwe, the UIA director, said women represent a big percentage of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owners in the country and encouraged them to register for the national SME portal. 

“This portal that is under USAID funding has upcoming major products of artificial intelligence to help derisk businesses or offer affordable and relevant financing for business growth and sustainability through gathering data.”

Ms Lawoko also urged all women in business to acquire investment licences that allow them to start benefiting from incentive regimes which are available, among other incentives.

Ms Deliah Nalukwago of Prio Medical Limited, said: “The competition was most definitely no walk in the park. In order to win, I had to do a lot more. I made sure to optimise for quality details and focus on delivering a powerful defence of my project. I must say, it feels awesome to win.”

Ms Mercy Nekesa of Raining Vegetables Limited, who was accorded a certificate of participation for a proposal well-written, said the competition was interestingly vigorous, especially when it came to defending proposals.

“I hope to grow my business and get customers. The competition has taught me the need to have the best product on the market in order to meet customer needs.”

About Rising Woman Initiative 

This was the fifth edition of the challenge since its inception in 2018. The theme of the initiative is  “Taking your business ahead”.

In 2020 and 2021, the programe did not run because of the Covid-19 pandemic.