OYAM – The government is to construct five one-stop business centres across the country to support women doing business on a large scale.
According to Betty Amongi, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development [MGLSD], the centers will be constructed under the new Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises [GROW] Project to enhance economic empowerment and increase prosperity.
Briefing the media at Northern Gateway Hotel in Kamdini Sub-county, Oyam district, Amongi said 1.2 million women in the country will be enrolled in the project within five years.
The project worth US$ 217 million was launched last month and is being funded by the World Bank while MGLSD is the lead implementing agency partnering with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda.
The project’s objective is to increase access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their enterprises.
The one-stop business centres, according to Amongi, will be equipped with internet facilities to enable women to transact business globally within the shortest time possible.
“The report from Uganda Bureau of Statistics and MasterCard Foundation indicates that the country [Uganda] has the most women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and I think when you move throughout this country you will see very many women on the roadside doing business,” she said.
“They are doing business, but the constraints are many and we want to address those constraints,” Amongi said.
She said a one-stop business centre will be built in Kampala while four others will be built in other regions in the country where certification of goods and export promotion will be handled.
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