Dr Biyinzika’s journey to women empowerment
Through KFSA, Biyinzika learnt the fundamentals of saving, investment and community development. She also gained valuable insights from older members, whose experience broadened her understanding of leadership and financial responsibility.
Dr Ruth Aisha Biyinzika Kasolo. (File)
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At 19, while many of her peers were enjoying their Senior Six vacation, Dr Ruth Aisha Biyinzika Kasolo was already shouldering responsibilities that would shape her career in financial management. Today, she co-ordinates GROW, a World Bank-funded initiative that helps women entrepreneurs build stronger, more productive businesses through training, mentorship and access to credit. Her journey began quietly, almost like a calling: To earn money, use it wisely and manage it well. Today, she shares the lessons she has learnt, drawing on her experience to help other women strengthen their financial management skills and grow their enterprises, writes NICKSON TURYAHIKAYO.
In 1999, 19-year-old Biyinzika was looking forward to a Senior Six 6 vacation outing with her classmates. They had planned a trip to the beach, with each person expected to contribute sh4,500 for transport and meals. Her plans hit a snag when her father learnt about the outing. Instead of letting her spend the money on the trip, he saw an opportunity to teach her the value of saving and investing.
He encouraged her to join the newly established Kawempe Financial Savings Association (KFSA), turning a planned beach outing into her first step towards financial discipline.
To become a full member, Biyinzika needed to buy a share worth sh10,000. Her father gave her half the amount and challenged her to raise the remaining sh5,000 herself.
Biyinzika took up the challenge, diverting her beach-trip money to complete the share purchase and secure membership.
Through KFSA, Biyinzika learnt the fundamentals of saving, investment and community development. She also gained valuable insights from older members, whose experience broadened her understanding of leadership and financial responsibility.
Her career path
GROW is a World Bank-funded initiative implemented through the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).
Biyinzika steadily built her career managing development programmes in partnership with international organisations, including the World Bank, the European Union, USAID and the African Development Bank.
Before taking on her current role, she managed the World Bank-funded Skills Development Fund, leading efforts to upgrade workers’ skills, boost productivity and strengthen national certification systems.
She also served as deputy chairperson of the board of the Presidential CEO Forum, contributing to efforts to strengthen collaboration between the private sector and government.
Biyinzika has previously worked as a senior programmes manager and technical adviser, overseeing programmes focused on trade facilitation, sustainable livelihoods and women’s economic empowerment. As the saying goes, if you want to bend a tree, start when it is still young. Biyinzika attributes her success to the teaching of her father and mentorship.
From election defeat to leadership
During the same vacation, KFSA held a general meeting to elect its leaders as the association prepared to begin formal operations.
Despite being only 19 and competing against older candidates with experience in local councils, unions and other associations, Biyinzika decided to contest for the position of chairperson. She lost the election, but some members told her they had been impressed by her manifesto and vision for developing the association.
Rather than abandon her ambitions, Biyinzika seized another opportunity when a position on KFSA’s three-member auditing committee became available. She contested and was selected to head the committee.
When the chairperson later resigned after taking up a managerial position, Biyinzika was appointed to replace them. She also headed the mobilisation committee.
Biyinzika visited markets, churches, mosques and small trading centres, encouraging people to join the association and embrace collective saving and investment. As she moved, she realised that leadership was not merely about occupying a position, but also about bringing people together and helping them find opportunities to improve lives.
How FSA International Uganda opened new doors
Biyinzika’s growing involvement in KFSA earned her an opportunity to attend a workshop alongside leaders of other Financial Services Associations, representing her community association.
It was during this workshop that she learnt that the local associations were part of a wider initiative organised under FSA International Uganda.
The initiative was supported by development partners, including the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), through UK aid, Plan International and the European Union.
The initiative supported community-based financial services associations that promoted saving, improved access to small loans and helped low-income earners strengthen their livelihoods. The workshop exposed Biyinzika to a wider network of associations and deepened her understanding of effective management, financial inclusion and community development. It also caught the project head’s attention, who recognised her leadership potential.
KFSA was singled out for its strong performance, and other leaders were encouraged to learn from its approach. Impressed by Biyinzika’s contribution, the project head asked her to visit other branches and train their workers.
She was also tasked with helping establish financial services associations in Bwaise and Mpererwe. Still on vacation, Biyinzika accepted the assignments and became involved in establishing the Bwaise Financial Services Association (BFSA) and the Mpererwe Financial Services Association (MFSA).
Her responsibilities were expanding beyond Kawempe, giving her practical experience in training, mobilisation and organisational development.
From vacation work to a career
When her vacation ended, Biyinzika joined Makerere University to pursue a bachelor of commerce degree. She informed her supervisor about her studies, and they agreed on a flexible work schedule that allowed her to balance university and her growing responsibilities.
“We agreed on the number of days and the hours when I would be available for work,” she says.
Her supervisor later assigned her to travel to Rukungiri to audit one of the association’s branches. Impressed by her performance, he subsequently tasked her with auditing branches and training staff across the Greater Masaka region.
At just 20, Biyinzika was travelling to different parts of the country, auditing branches, training staff and supporting the growth of community financial institutions.
She was provided with a company vehicle and a telephone with monthly airtime to facilitate her work. She also used her earnings to build her first house in Kawempe.
In 2002, while still pursuing her studies at Makerere University, Biyinzika was appointed operations manager of FSA International Uganda, marking another milestone in her professional journey.
The responsibilities she assumed at a young age equipped her with practical skills in leadership, financial management, staff training and community mobilisation. They also gave her an early understanding of how financial inclusion could help people improve their livelihoods.
Those experiences laid the foundation for her subsequent career in development programmes, eventually leading her to senior roles focused on economic growth and women’s empowerment. For many women whose lives Biyinzika has touched, empowerment means having the confidence to seize opportunities, the determination to acquire assets, the courage to return to school and the generosity to help other women succeed.
Rashidah Namaganda, entrepreneur
I was running only an event-organising business, but Biyinzika made me realise I could start another business without abandoning the one I already had. I have since opened a shop and bought land for coffee farming. I also credit Biyinzika for helping women understand the value of forming associations because as women, we are beginning to see the benefits of working together and supporting one another financially.
Immaculate Nduhukire, shop owner
I have never met Biyinzika in person, but I discovered her on TikTok. I then started listening to her lessons on financial freedom and reached out to her. Since then, she has become my friend. She advised me not to rely on my shop as my only source of income, but to explore other ventures. Taking that advice to heart, I bought land where I grow coffee, and it belongs to me as a woman, not my husband. I also own cows. What I love most about her is that whenever she finds a missed call from me, she calls me back. She has never given me money, but she is always there when I need her expert advice.
‘Education will elevate you to the boardroom’
Peninah Namubiru says Biyinzika’s mentorship encouraged her to pursue further education and believe in her potential.
“I have a master’s degree because of Dr Biyinzika. She insisted that I had the capacity to achieve more than just a first degree,” Peninah says. She recalls a conversation in which Biyinzika encouraged her to return to school. encouraged her to return to school. experience could make me a manager, but education would elevate me to the boardroom.
“She once sat me down and told me that experience could make me a manager, but education would elevate me to the boardroom. She told me to think about adding value to myself, warning that if I did not, my juniors could overtake me and end up giving me instructions in the boardroom,” Peninah says. “That is something I will never forget. It motivated me to return to school,” she adds.
From waitress to aspiring doctor
Christine Arituha, who previously worked as a waitress, now owns a skilling school and conducts mobile skills training, which earns her more money than before meeting Biyinzika. “She told me that regardless of my background as a waitress, I had the potential to achieve what she had achieved. I remember her telling me that my name could change from waitress Arituha to Dr Arituha,” Arituha says. Arituha, who holds a diploma in tourism and hospitality, took Biyinzika’s advice and returned to school. She has since earned a master’s degree in business management and hopes to pursue a PhD, with the ambition of eventually being called Dr Arituha.
‘Dr Biyinzika is my hero’
Oliver Mukandooli, the owner of Grass Roots Cafe and Deli, describes Biyinzika as her inspiration. She says running her business for over a decade has not been easy.
“Whenever I feel overwhelmed or face a major challenge, I turn to Biyinzika. She is always there to encourage me. I admire her passion for helping women build wealth, achieve financial independence, love themselves and prioritise their well-being,” she says.
Mukandooli also values Biyinzika’s message that women can pursue financial success without neglecting their health, happiness and personal lives. She urges women in business to support one another, celebrate each other’s achievements and create opportunities for others to thrive.
Financial independence
For more than 27 years, Biyinzika has combined professional growth with a commitment to empowering women and strengthening communities.
“A woman who owns something is in a different position from one who owns nothing. Even when a relationship breaks down, a woman with assets is less likely to suffer the same hardships as one who has nothing,” Biyinzika said.
Inspired by her role model, Dr Maggie Kigozi, Biyinzika has championed women’s empowerment, particularly among those in underserved communities. From the beginning, she reached out to women in informal settlements, markets and downtown trading centres, encouraging them to pursue education, explore business opportunities and improve their financial well-being.
Her work has focused on financial inclusion, group savings, skills development and helping women acquire assets in their own names. Women who have benefited from her mentorship and fi nancial guidance say it has transformed the way they run their businesses, invest in education and manage household finances.