Women Economic Empowerment
Globally over 380 million women and girls leave in poverty. Among many other challenges is the lack the capital to enable them to start or expand a business to earn a sustainable income. 68% of people in northern Uganda leave in poverty, women and girls constituents the majority in this disturbing reality
Uganda is an agrarian society with majority of the population living in the rural areas mainly engaged in subsistence farming. Women provide over 70% of agricultural labor and are mostly involved in production for domestic consumption. Due to social cultural constraints, few5 women own land which limits their control and sale of the proceeds thereof, it also limits their ability to secure credit from financial institutions due to lack of collateral.
The only gap is they lack the capital to enable them to start or expand a business to earn a sustainable income, we provide women and girls with microloans of $50- $300 to start or grow a small business. With their microloans, women invest in agro-business, poultry farming, produce business, sawing business, fish farming on a small scale, small shops, bakeries, restaurants. On average, each borrower supports a family of five. Therefore, each microloan benefits around five people. When the loan is paid back and loaned out again and again, the number of people benefited exponentially multiplies.
Micro Loans
Women are the major recipients of microcredit loans because they are a better risk – they have a higher repayment rate and are more responsible with the money. Studies have shown that women are more interested and therefore more likely to improve the lives of their children which includes nutrition, health, and education. Data also suggests that lending to women has a significant increase in food and non-food expenditures per household suggesting that lending to women increases the health and well-being of the entire family.
Business Skills Training
We Support women in Northern Uganda which is a post-conflict region, where women and children experienced horrific violence and chronic poverty. The women in our program are former abductees, forced to become child soldiers for the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army); former sex slaves or ‘wives’ of LRA commanders, have lost many family members, and, for the most part, have been invisible and missed out many opportunities including education. These women although they are entrepreneurial they are often not successful because they lack training.
Our Partners
