RWAMPARA, March 7, 2025 – As the world prepares to celebrate the International Women’s Day tomorrow, the women under the Rwampara Entrepreneurs Emyooga Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation [SACCO] in Rwampara district have successfully invested the funds received through the programme in various businesses, significantly boosting their household incomes.
Gloria Namumpa, Chairperson of the SACCO says that they received a seed capital of Shs 60 million from the Microfinance Support Centre [MSC] in 2019. According to Namumpa, the Shs 60 million was used to start 45 groups, which have now grown to 68 women’s groups.
“Initially, we were supposed to receive Shs 30 million, but we unexpectedly received Shs 60 million, which has enabled our groups to invest in multiple projects such as juice making, ushering, decorations, baking, vegetable growing, tailoring, and bricklaying, among others,” she said.
Namumpa added that the seed capital has so far supported a total of 1,452 women in Rwampara District.
Among the various ventures, juice making, ushering, baking, decorations, and tailoring have seen significant success, collectively increasing their total income to Shs 126 million.
“Through Juwakari, we received four tailoring machines, which we are now using to train 12 students. For the juice making and ushering project, we invested Shs 6 million, and now we have about Shs 12 million. For decorations, we invested about Shs 3.5 million, which has now grown to Shs 12 million,” Namumpa explained.
She further shared that in 2022, they invested Shs 7 million in a bakery, which now generates a profit of Shs 80,000 per day from producing 1,200 loaves of bread and over 500 packs of buns.
“We started with just 5 loaves of bread and 5 buns, but now we sell 1,200 loaves of bread and over 500 packs of buns every day. This has been a huge success because after deducting costs for fuel and paying the bakers, we are left with a daily profit of Shs 80,000,” she said.
The Chairperson also highlighted that, thanks to the Emyooga seed capital, women in Rwampara have created job opportunities for 38 youth in the area.
“I am happy to see that women who had nothing have now started various projects like piggery and poultry, all thanks to the seed capital provided by the government,” she said.
Hilary Nshabomwe, General Manager of the Emyooga SACCO, stated that the SACCO, which began with a share capital of Shs 2.5 million, has now grown to Shs 4.1 million over the past five years.
“As of 31 August 2024, the total savings amount to Shs 48 million, with share capital at Shs 4.1 million and a loan portfolio of Shs 107 million. The total cumulative amount disbursed in five years is Shs 495 million,” Nshabomwe said.
Namumpa added that all the women in the groups have started individual projects, such as piggery and chicken rearing, to further support their household incomes.
“For example, I used my Shs 3.5 million loan to purchase four Friesian cows, which I am now looking after through a zero-grazing system. Currently, one cow produces 15 litres of milk and another 10 litres,” she explained. “I also started a milk-selling business, which is doing very well.”
Donax Turyamureba from Nyeihanga Town Council confirmed that she has managed to earn a good income from the decoration business, which has helped her pay school fees for her four children.
“When we get business, we work and earn money, which I use to support my husband in paying school fees for our four children. This was never the case before,” Turyamureba noted.
Challenges
Despite the significant success of the Rwampara Women Entrepreneurs SACCO, Namumpa highlighted some challenges, particularly the lack of transport means. She urged the government to provide support, such as a truck, to ease the transportation of goods.
“For example, we hire four motorcycles every day at a cost of Shs 20,000 to transport our bread and buns, which adds up to over Shs 600,000 per month. This is a significant expense for a small-scale business, and we urge the government to help address this issue,” she said.
Namumpa also mentioned the challenge of high rent costs. “We pay Shs 200,000 per month for the bakery space and Shs 150,000 per month for office space,” she explained, adding that the SACCO would like to purchase its own land to build offices and other facilities, but currently lacks the funds to do so.
She further noted that while the seed capital has made a difference, it is still insufficient given the large number of women who wish to join and benefit from the government programme aimed at reducing poverty at the household level.
To date, 7,101 Emyooga SACCOs have been registered, of which 6,913 have received seed capital. As a result, these SACCOs have been able to mobilise close to Shs 85.5 billion in total savings across the country. Out of the total Shs 293 billion disbursed to members, Shs 102 billion has been recovered so far.
Some of the successful Emyooga SACCOs include: Rwampara Women Entrepreneurs, Ruhama Main Produce Dealers, Mbarara City South Women Entrepreneurs, Mbarara City North Produce Dealers, Rwampara Fishermen, Pader Veterans SACCO, Kabarole Restaurant Owners, Kisoro Elected Leaders, Kabale Women Entrepreneurs, Ndorwa West Fishermen, Ruhama Women Entrepreneurs, Adjuman Women Entrepreneurs, Lira Municipality Carpenters, Kawempe Boda-Boda SACCO, Usafi Tax Operators, and Buikwe Women Entrepreneurs, among others.
The Emyooga Programme is a presidential initiative aimed at wealth and job creation, launched in August 2019 as part of the broader government strategy to transform 68 percent of households from subsistence to market-oriented production. The initiative seeks to promote job creation and improve household incomes, focusing on 18 categories of enterprises covering a wide range of previously financially excluded Ugandans engaged in specialised enterprises such as drivers, salonists, journalists, welders, and plumbers among others.
https://thecooperator.news/performance-of-pdm-and-emyooga-kigezi-explained/
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