WAKISO – Over 388,500 in 873 parishes across the country can now save and access credit at only 0.5% interest per month, courtesy of Gudie Leisure Farm.
This was revealed by Prof. Gudula Basaza, Founder and Managing Director, Gudie Leisure Farm while addressing the press on Monday ahead of their Parish Entrepreneurship Learning Associations (PELA) Savings and Loans Associations Cottage Industry Conference, scheduled to take place on Monday, August 5, 2024.
The conference which will be held at the Farm’s headquarters from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM will bring together 300 Youth Agripreneur Champions from various districts across Uganda. The conference aims to equip Youth Agripreneur Champions with the skills needed to transform their PSLAs into strong and sustainable institutions.
She explained that at the parish level, the business activities of Youth Agripreneur Champions are coordinated by PELAs, which were established with support from Gudie Leisure Farm.
“PELAs play a crucial role in mobilizing and organizing youth into business groups to collaboratively meet market demands. They also provide valuable insights into the business environment, helping leaders and management teams make informed decisions.”
Prof Gudula revealed that at the moment, these PELAs (873) have a net portfolio of 2.5 billion.
She noted that through the PELAs’ skills development programs, Youth Agripreneur Champions can enhance their technical and business competencies, leading to increased productivity, profitability, and competitiveness. Additionally, PELAs advocate for policies and programs that support the growth and sustainability of youth-led enterprises.
“Importantly, PELAs serve as platforms for accessing affordable financial services, enabling the establishment of community savings and credit groups to support business development.”
“Community savings and credit groups have been instrumental in mobilizing and creating wealth, facilitating socio-economic growth and transformation in local communities. However, challenges such as poor leadership, weak management systems, lack of clear business strategies, limited product and service offerings, and insufficient capital hinder their growth and sustainability,” she said.
Prof. Gudula is optimistic that through the conference, they will address the gaps and weaknesses in the PSLAs.
Ms. Florence Nampeera a Board Member of Gudie Unbrella Fund says the Gudie Agribusiness Investment club brings together all the PSLAs where they save and access credit at 0.5% per month. This was established to address the challenge of lack of access to big capital. It was also established to reduce the interest rates. The Umbrella Fund currently has 1 billion Uganda Shillings.
Mr. Tualib Onzima, the District PELA chairperson for Arua district applauds the PELA Savings and Loan Associations for enabling the youth to embrace the savings culture. This has unlocked access to immediate access to funding. It has enabled the youth who save to earn and it is a cohesion factor.
Government institutions, development partners, and NGOs promoting youth-owned savings and loans associations, Members of youth-owned savings and loans associations and BDS providers supporting youth-owned savings and loans associations are expected to attend the event.