World Bank-backed facility expands women’s access to capital as SACCOs and affirmative lending reach more entrepreneurs
By Brian Mugenyi
Kampala: Uganda’s effort to expand access to finance for women entrepreneurs is gathering momentum, with the GROW Financing Facility recording 10,096 loans and a cumulative Shs161 billion disbursed through 14 participating financial institutions (PFIs) as of June 30, 2026.
The latest performance figures provide a snapshot of how the facility is extending capital to women-owned businesses while also bringing previously underserved groups into the formal financing system.
The GROW Financing Facility is part of the wider Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project, implemented through the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, with financing from the World Bank.
At the heart of the programme is an effort to enable women entrepreneurs to access financing and other entrepreneurial services needed to establish, expand and strengthen their businesses.
SHS161 BILLION DISBURSED
According to the performance figures supplied for June 30, 2026, participating financial institutions had cumulatively disbursed Shs161 billion through 10,096 loans.
The lending has been channelled through 14 PFIs, demonstrating the growing role of financial institutions in delivering the programme’s financing component.
The figures also show significant variation in the number of loans issued by individual participating institutions, with the performance chart recording institutions responsible for different proportions of the total lending portfolio.
The data provides an indication of the scale at which women entrepreneurs are accessing financing through the facility.
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO FINANCE AT THE CENTRE
The GROW financing model is designed to address one of the longstanding challenges facing women entrepreneurs: access to affordable and appropriate capital.
For many women operating micro and small enterprises, limited access to finance can restrict investment in equipment, stock, production, technology and business expansion.
GROW seeks to address that gap by connecting eligible women entrepreneurs to financing while complementing the loans with broader enterprise-development support.
The programme covers sectors including agriculture, agro-processing and value addition, manufacturing, construction, science and technology, services, creative arts and ICT.
This broad sectoral approach allows women operating different types of businesses to participate in the programme.
AFFIRMATIVE CATEGORIES
The June 30 figures also highlight participation by groups targeted through affirmative financing categories.
The data records:
1,611 refugees
357 members of ethnic minorities
26 persons with disabilities
46 women in Refugee Hosting Districts
1,352 beneficiaries under affirmative categories.
These figures demonstrate the programme’s attempt to reach women entrepreneurs beyond conventional urban and formal business networks.
For women in refugee-hosting communities and other underserved groups, access to capital can be particularly important in building sustainable income-generating activities.
SACCOs JOIN THE FINANCING NETWORK
The performance update also shows growing participation by Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations.
According to the figures, five SACCOs had been fully onboarded and had received initial disbursements.
However, four SACCOs had not yet reported loans as of June 30, 2026.
The inclusion of SACCOs is significant because they are often closer to communities and small businesses than conventional financial institutions.
Their participation can potentially extend the reach of financing to women entrepreneurs operating outside major commercial centres.
DISTRICT-LEVEL REACH
The performance dashboard also maps the geographical distribution of GROW loan borrowers across Uganda.
Districts are categorised according to the number of loans recorded, ranging from areas with 71 or more loans to districts with 31–70 loans, 11–30 loans and 1–10 loans.
The dashboard also identifies districts with zero GROW borrowers, showing that access to the facility remains uneven across the country.
This geographical variation provides an important area for continued programme monitoring.
The objective is not simply to increase the total amount of money disbursed but also to ensure that eligible women entrepreneurs in different parts of Uganda are able to access the financing.
FROM LOANS TO BUSINESS GROWTH
The significance of the GROW Financing Facility ultimately lies beyond the number of loans issued.
A loan becomes economically meaningful when it enables an entrepreneur to increase production, create employment, enter a new market, purchase productive equipment or build a sustainable enterprise.
For women entrepreneurs, stronger businesses can also translate into improved household incomes and greater economic independence.
This is particularly important in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, services, ICT and creative industries, where small enterprises can become important sources of employment and local economic activity.
THE NEXT TEST
The June 30 performance figures show that the GROW Financing Facility has established a substantial lending portfolio.
But the next stage will be to determine how effectively the financing translates into sustainable enterprise growth.
That means monitoring repayment, business expansion, employment creation and the long-term survival of enterprises supported through the facility.
It also means addressing geographical gaps and ensuring that districts without GROW borrowers are not permanently left outside the financing network.
With 10,096 loans and Shs161 billion in cumulative disbursements, the programme has already created a significant financing channel for women entrepreneurs.
The bigger question now is how many businesses will grow from that capital — and how many women will use the opportunity to build enterprises capable of supporting families, creating jobs and contributing to Uganda’s wider economy.
