Gender expo showcases women-led business innovations, success stories
“Women are not lacking in ideas or ambition. They are lacking tailored financial support systems,” gender minister Betty Amongi said while opening the session.
From Left; DR Ruth Aisha Kasolo, Sarah Kagingo, finance minister Matia Kasaija, gender minister Betty Amongi, Serena Cavicchi and other representatives from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development at the Gender Inclusive Fin. (Photos by David Lukiiza)
Nelson Mandela Muhoozi
Journalist @New Vision
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The Gender-Inclusive Financing Innovation Expo being held at MoTIV, an Innovations Hub in Bugoloobi, Kampala, is showcasing innovations, sharing lessons boosting women-led businesses.
The two-day event (May 15 to 16, 2025) has brought together policymakers, banking executives, fintech innovators and women entrepreneurs to answer a pressing national question: How do we make finance work for women?
Held under the theme: Catalysing Innovation for Gender-Inclusive Finance through the GROW Project, the expo is a joint initiative by the gender ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), with technical backing from the World Bank.
The Expo revealed a compelling statistic, that although women own a significant share of Uganda’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, they account for only 24.4% of the industry’s formal loan book.
Additionally, a revelation was made that many rely on mobile money platforms or informal financial networks that often expose them to exorbitant interest rates, theft and fraud.
“Women are not lacking in ideas or ambition. They are lacking tailored financial support systems,” gender minister Betty Amongi said while opening the session.
“Through the GROW project, we want to dismantle these institutional and structural barriers once and for all," she said.
Finance minister Matia Kasaija addressing exhibitors.
The GROW project is a World Bank-funded programme that aims to increase access to entrepreneurial and financial services for women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises in Uganda.
Finance minister Matia Kasaija and the guest of honour at the expo underscored the need for financial inclusion to be at the core of national economic planning and noted that when women thrive, the nations prosper.
He also reiterated the need to reduce the cost of doing business by promoting investments in energy, transport, ICT and SME industrial parks in order to strengthen the local content development.
The expo was held in sessions, with session II having a panel of financial sector leaders including Anne Nakawunde Mulindwa of Finance Trust Bank, Gerald Otim of Ensibuuko, and Gift Shoko of Equity Bank discussing how placing women at the centre of banking strategy is not only just but also profitable.
This was followed by a revealing session: GROW Loan in Focus, where Access to Finance Specialist Paul Nuwagaba outlined lending trends, insights, and impact stories.
Two women entrepreneurs shared emotional testimonies on how the GROW loan helped them escape financial precarity and expand their businesses.
Breakout sessions later in the afternoon covered key areas such as non-collateral-based lending, post-financing support, alternative credit assessment tools, non-bank financing models, and serving refugee women entrepreneurs.
With lessons from the Expo feeding into the GROW Financing Facility (GFF) and guiding the upcoming Women Entrepreneurship Financing Learning Lab (WEFL), stakeholders said they are optimistic that Uganda can become a model for gender-inclusive finance in Africa.
“We are building more than financial products,” PSFU vice-chairperson Sarah Kagingo said, “we are building pathways to prosperity for women across Uganda”.
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