Emyooga: Kitgum Tailoring SACCO grows Shs 60mln seed capital to Shs 116mln in four years

KITGUM, June 23, 2026 — The Kitgum Municipality Tailoring Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited [SACCO] has grown its Emyooga seed capital from Shs 60 million to Shs 116mln in savings and interest earnings over the past four years.

According to the SACCO leadership, the growth reflects improved saving habits among members and returns generated from funds advanced under the government’s Emyooga programme.

Speaking to this reporter days ago, Rev. Ken Odongkara, Chairperson of the SACCO, said the accumulated funds were generated through member savings and interest earned from lending activities supported by the government seed capital.

“The money has grown through savings and interest from the funds we received under Emyooga,” Odongkara said.

The SACCO initially received Shs 30mln in 2021 and later secured an additional Shs 30mln in 2025. It also received Shs 20mln in supplementary capital from the Microfinance Support Centre [MSC] in recognition of its strong performance.

Currently, the Kitgum Municipality Tailoring SACCO has more than 300 members organised into 10 sub-groups.

Odongkara said the SACCO plans to invest part of its accumulated funds in establishing a tailoring training school to equip unemployed youth in Kitgum and neighbouring districts with vocational skills to improve their livelihoods.

Emyooga is a Presidential initiative aimed at promoting household incomes, wealth creation and job opportunities by providing seed capital to Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations targeting Ugandans working in the informal sector.

Despite the reported progress, Odongkara acknowledged that loan recovery remains one of the SACCO’s biggest challenges.

“Some members received loans and disappeared. Tracing them has become difficult,” he said.

One beneficiary, Mildred Auma Ocaya, said she borrowed Shs 400,000 from the SACCO and invested it in purchasing tailoring materials.

“My business was almost collapsing before I accessed the loan, but I have since doubled my stock,” Ocaya said.

She appealed to government to increase Emyooga funding allocations in line with growing membership, noting that the tailoring SACCO now serves more than 300 members across 10 groups.

Alex Opira, the Kitgum Principal District Commercial Officer, said loan recovery remains a challenge across several SACCOs in the district despite pockets of strong performance.

He identified Kitgum Municipal SACCO, Kitgum Welders SACCO, Kitgum Municipality Restaurant Owners SACCO, Kitgum Market Vendors SACCO and Kitgum Municipality Produce Dealers SACCO among the better-performing enterprises.

However, Opira said the weakest-performing enterprises include Kitgum Elected Leaders’ SACCO, Journalists SACCO operating in Chua West and Kitgum Municipality, and the Taxi Operators and Drivers’ SACCO, among others.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Oguti, the Kitgum Assistant Resident District Commissioner [RDC], announced that authorities will launch an Emyooga Week campaign to sensitise beneficiaries on the importance of repaying borrowed funds.

He warned that all beneficiaries must honour their loan obligations in accordance with programme guidelines.

Kitgum district has so far received more than Shs 2.3 billion under the Emyooga programme, benefiting 54 SACCOs across the constituencies of Chua West, Chua East and Kitgum Municipality.

Launched in August 2019, The Emyooga programme is a presidential initiative designed to transition homesteads from a subsistence to a market-oriented economy. Managed by the MSC, it provides seed capital to specialised, enterprise-based SACCOs across 146 districts and cities , to enable the beneficiaries create jobs and wealth.

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