Empowering women financially is crucial for economic development

Uganda Women’s Finance Trust is celebrating 25 years of existence and re-launching the company. Godwin Ayesiga talked to Professor Mary Okwakol, the chairperson of the trust. Below are the excerpts.

What is the background of Uganda Women’s Trust?
UWFT is a Non-Governmental Organisation started in 1984 as Uganda Women’s Finance Trust (UWFT) after the founders developed a mechanism that enabled the low income women to develop a saving culture and access credit as a tool for economic empowerment.

This was progressively refined to make UWFT the leading Micro Finance Institution (MFI) in Uganda and reorganised in the African region.

After 25 years of great achievements, we have decided to re-brand and re-launch the organisation.

Why have you decided to re-brand and re-launch Uganda Women’s Finance Trust as Uganda Women’s Trust?
Re-launching UWFT is necessary because it aims at creating a distinction between UWFT as an NGO and UWT as a financial institution.

Since we no longer offer financial services, we deemed it fit to discard the word “Finance” in the name of the organisation. We are also assuming a new identity in terms of colours and logo. However, we retained blue but introduced gold.

Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile Governor Bank of Uganda cutting the tape

at the opening of the new Uganda Finance Trust head office in 2008

Does blue and gold symbolise anything significant?
Blue symbolises trustworthiness, dependability and commitment while gold symbolises wealth used wisely.

What is your geographical scope of operation?
Uganda Women’s Trust operates at a national level in order to reach out to all low income women.

This is aimed at equipping them with knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for business development and capitalisation through savings that help them create entrepreneurial opportunities.

In Kampala, we are located on Plot 59, Buganda Road and we also have a network of 22 branches countrywide.

What major activities do you undertake?
Since 2004, as a non-financial service institution, UWT has consolidated its institutional policies, systems, procedures and capacities to be able to drive her redefined mission and objectives.

Our programmes will continue to focus on developing entrepreneurship among low-income women, households and the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups so as to improve the incomes and wellbeing of the families and communities.

Do you have any specific areas of focus?
We have a number of them like building and establishing strategic partnerships for effective service delivery, conducting research on issues affecting the economic development of low income women, provision of information relevant for economic empowerment of women, provision of advisory services in the micro-finance industry and building entrepreneurial capacity of low income women.

You have talked of providing women with information, how do you intend to achieve this?
On March 4, we established the Trust Resource Centre for availing the highly required information on economic empowerment for low income women. Through our website www.uwt.org.ug, we invite all women to access information in a simplified manner.

The vital material will be translated into local languages so that even those who cannot read English will be able to get the information. We also intend to have a resource centre in each region.

It is now 25 years of UWT, what are your major achievements?
UWFT, renamed UWT was the ground breaker in the micro-finance industry in Uganda.
Its experiences provided lessons upon which the other MFIs were formulated and nurtured.

We were not only instrumental in the formulation of the microfinance policy in Uganda but also the first NGO to provide a comprehensive microfinance package to clients.

In 2004, UWFT gave birth to Uganda Finance Trust Limited (UFT) under the brand name Finance Trust, a regulated Micro Deposit taking institution (MDI) which took over the microfinance business of UWFT.

UWFT was restructured to focus on non-financial services, with a mission to provide skills and technical support to low income women to improve their socio-economic status.
However, UFT continues to offer financial services to low income people with emphasis on women.

What challenges have you encountered in your operations?
Initially, it was difficult to get the women together.
For instance, they would show up one day and another day they would not turn up. However through persistence, we managed to bring many on board.

UWT has since 2004 created a group of young entrepreneurs that has exponentially expanded to about sixty groups in northern Uganda.

We are also unable to fully implement our plans and achieve set objectives due to limited finances.

Do you have any future plans?
We plan to continue identifying, mobilising, training and transforming low income women into entrepreneurs. Our role is to enhance their capacities in business development and capitalisation through advocacy for saving and access to finance. We also intend to continue working hard to have women entrepreneurs linked to national and international networks.