KAMPALA – In a bid to revive the worst-hit sectors of the economy, Stanbic Bank Uganda has partnered with the United Nations and other funding agencies to create an enterprise fund that will provide low-cost financing informal sector businesses to enable them recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Economic Enterprise Restart fund (EERF) is intended make available cheap funds to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) as well as village savings and credit associations (VSLAs) to enhance their productivity and provide both digital & technical support in capacity building and institutional development.
The EERF will drive financial inclusion through the digital banking process and build economic activity sustainability that will help create employment opportunities, increase consumption, and avert poverty in the rural and peri-urban areas.
Speaking during the launch at Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Stanbic Bank Chief Executive, Ms. Anna Juuko said, the fund has identified key individuals, businesses and groups that were made financially vulnerable by the pandemic.
She says these will receive low-cost finances from the bank to allow them to boost their business capital, increase daily income or cash flows and empower them to become financially stable.
“Through the Stanbic Business Incubator, we shall provide financial literacy for SMEs, SACCOs, VSLA’s and enterprises to enhance the development and sustainability of their businesses. This will integrate them into the financial sector, ensure that they have access to mainstream banking channels and credit facilities, get digital and capacity building training,” Ms. Juuko emphasized.
This intervention in support of vulnerable populations is expected to help counter the effect of Covid-19 on the economy while the digitalization of the informal sector through this initiative will provide the Government and policymakers the much-needed data for planning future interventions to increase household incomes and alleviate poverty.
Ms Rosa Malango the UN Resident Coordinator said this is a recipe to finance Sustainable Development and she looks forward to having other partners join them.
“Our commitment to the Economic Enterprise Restart fund is an opportunity for a new type of partnership between the UN and a leading private sector institution-Stanbic to adapt and respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable sectors of the economy and the most likely segments of the population to be left behind,” she said.
Ms Malango added that as they begin the last decade of action to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, this partnership between Stanbic Uganda and the United Nations in Uganda will create a bridge for those in the informal sector during this COVID-19 times.
By transforming the lives and livelihoods of women and vulnerable groups in the rural areas, the EERF will be able to increase individual household income, ensure that every home has access to quality and affordable education and healthcare, clean energy, cooking, and water. These are essential aspects of socio-economic development, personal wealth creation, and financial protection.
Ms. Emma Mugisha the Executive Director of Stanbic Bank also explained that the Fund is intended to grow businesses, create employment, widen the tax base through improved economic activity, and increase export base and import substitution thus a stepping stone towards reviving the economy.
“The Economic Enterprise Restart Fund will improve the socio-economic status of women in rural areas by empowering them to become financially stable to establish or boost their small-scale businesses, procure their needed equipment and infrastructure for their economic activity, and enable them to take better care of their children and families,” she said.
