GROW project: Alupo wants former insurgency-affected areas prioritised
Dec 08, 2023
Women entrepreneur’s associations will benefit from grants of between sh18m and sh120m.
Katakwi women entreprenuers congratulating VP Alupo, also their women MP for lobbying for the grow project on Thursday. (Photos by Emmanuel Alomu)
Emmanuel Alomu
Journalist @New Vision
_____________________________ VP Alupo giving out 120 iron sheets to Toroma Boys PS in Katakwi during the GROW project sensitisation meeting on Thursday.
Vice-President Jessica Alupo has asked the gender ministry to prioritise women entrepreneurs in areas affected by cattle rustling when it is implementing the GROW project.
Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity of Women Enterprises (GROW) is a government of Uganda five-year project financed by the International Development Agency (IDA) under a grant financing arrangement of $217m.
The project's development objective is to increase access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their enterprises in targeted locations, including refugee-hosting districts.
The Government is currently sensitising women entrepreneurs on how to benefit from the GROW project in selected districts in Uganda.
During the sensitisation of the women entrepreneurs in Katakwi, the only selected district in Teso to benefit from the project, Alex Asiimwe, the gender ministry commissioner labour, industrial relations, and productivity said this project has three lines where women entrepreneurs of the selected districts will access financial support.
Women entrepreneur’s associations will benefit from grants of between sh18m and sh120m.
Entrepreneur performance or matching grants where the project adds the money one borrows from the bank and finally credit, which will be given at a lower interest rate.
The project intends also to construct or upgrade the common user production facility for value addition of the produced grains.
Under the gender-inclusive workplace aspect, facilities like childcare, training, stores, and digital areas will be constructed in the workplaces or markets where women are doing business.
The project targets to support 60,000 female-led enterprises, according to Asiimwe.
Alupo, who doubles as the Katakwi District Woman Member of Parliament, said the women entrepreneurs in about eight sub-counties of Katakwi that border Karamoja including areas of Karamoja that were affected by the rustlers need to benefit from mostly the total grants.
“Most of these women returned to their villages in 2008 after the Government disarmed 40,000 guns. So, you cannot compare them with the stable districts,” she said.
Alupo added that performance can also work in some isolated places in the district where there are mature businesses and that the big businessmen in Katakwi should guide the women on how to benefit from the credit line of financial access.
Explain to the men why they are not part of GROW
The vice president said the ministry should also explain to men why they are not part of this project to avoid gender-based violence.
The Alupo tasked the districts to utilize the shs1b given by the Government to improve the roads so that women could take their products for sale in their nearby markets.
Earlier in the day, Rehema Achom, the representative of the business entrepreneurs in Katakwi, said most of them are involved in small businesses such as bodaboda, livestock farming, produce selling, catering, hairdressing, mobile money, and agriculture.
Challenges faced by women to be addressed
Achom, however, highlighted some of the challenges faced by the women in the district including limited capital to improve- their businesses, poor decision-making and financial indiscipline, gender-based violence, poor bargaining power for their products, and lack of business or financial literacy skills.
However, the Grow project officials revealed that the project is coming to address most of the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs.
Katakwi Resident District Commissioner Godfrey Katamba said most women selected to benefit from the GROW project have never benefitted from other government programmes.
Disability Affairs state minister Hellen Grace Asamo said women entrepreneurs will start getting GROW project funds in March of next year.
She asked the women to choose a particular enterprise to concentrate on other than jumping from one business to another and getting smartphones.
Asamo clarified that networking aimed at exchanging business ideas will also be key in the Grow project.
Toroma County MP Joseph Andrew Koluo asked the vice-president to ensure that there is a market for the products of the Katakwi women's small enterprises. He, therefore, urged the women to embrace GROW for the improvement of their livelihoods.
Katakwi Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Juliet Cheptoet urged the ministry to increase the number of women entrepreneurs to benefit from the GROW project beyond the 200 that they are starting with.
During this meeting, Toroma Boys Primary School received 120 iron sheets for roofing the classroom that was affected by a storm.
The vice president also handed over a Government-branded new ambulance to Toroma County.
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