Equity Bank trains women in financial management
FORT PORTAL CITY, March 16, 2024 – As part of celebrating women’s achievements in the country, Equity Bank Uganda is empowering women who run small-scale businesses in financial literacy in a bid to enable them to achieve their full potential.
Through Abakyala ku Ntiko [Women on top], programme, Equity Bank is committed to women’s development where women can now access business loans from the lender at a reduced interest rate.
According to the Bank’s Regional Manager, Fatuma Ahamed, enabling women to achieve financial independence helps them avoid unnecessary borrowing.
“We are training women in financial literacy to help them in managing their savings and making decisions when money comes through. We have trained them in money management to help them in case they are given the loan to let the loan do it’s purpose and not divert it so that they can be able to pay back,” Ahamed said.
She was speaking last Wednesday during a training of women entrepreneurs from Tooro Sub-region at Kalya Courts in Fort Portal City.
Ahamed urged women to utilise the loans efficiently, having undergone financial literacy training.
“The main challenge for the women has been budgeting. Equity Bank recognises the important role women have to play in a community’s development and growth. To help women overcome the challenges they face daily, Equity Bank set up credit facilities in 2021 that now support 50,000 women and youth with free financial management training, networking opportunities, peer mentorship, insurance cover and unsecured financing,” she added.
The Fort Portal City Woman Member of Parliament, Irene Linda Mugisa who was a guest speaker emphasised the importance of prudent spending if business women are to attain sustainable businesses.
“My fellow women, I urge you to live within your means and embrace the virtue of allocating finances wisely, adhering to a balanced money formular; 50 percent on necessities, 20 percent on investments, 10 percent on leisure and 20 percent on savings,” she said.
MP Mugisa who acknowledged women’s contributions to the economy, urged Tooro women to strike a balance between work and family responsibilities, explaining that the financial independence doesn’t necessarily imply that they neglect their feminine responsibilities at home.
“I commend Equity Bank for empowering women through financial literacy training, addressing a critical gap in their business management skills,” she said.
However, she said much as women are hardworking , engaged in activities like handwork, farming, and value addition among others, but they lack market for their products. She said there is need for banks, and government to work together to connect women to markets.
“We [government] need to work together with the banks that are giving us the money because when we get money from the banks, we must pay back, and if there is no market, it will be very hard for these women to be able to pay back these loans,” she said.
She added that, ” As government, we have tried to equip women with seed capital but if women don’t have skills to utilise this money , they won’t be able to come to on top.”
According to statistics from Uganda Bureau of Statistics [UBOS], nearly 40 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises are owned by women in Uganda. These businesses employ millions of people and support hundreds of households.
https://thecooperator.news/equity-bank-readies-loans-for-small-enterprises-in-acholi/
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