Uganda pledges greater investment in women entrepreneurs to drive economic growth

Uganda has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding investment in women-led savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) and entrepreneurship programmes as part of broader efforts to tackle gender inequality, create jobs and improve household incomes.
The pledge was made during the closing ceremony of the Women Economic Empowerment for Green Transformation project under the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (WEEG-UWEP) in Kampala. The initiative, implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, has supported women in establishing and growing businesses while promoting environmentally sustainable enterprises.
Speaking at the event, the State Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development in charge of Culture, Mary Kamuli Kuteesa, said women continue to face significant economic disadvantages despite constituting the majority of Uganda’s population. She said the government is strengthening the foundation for women’s economic empowerment by investing in women-owned businesses and supporting women-led SACCOs, enabling beneficiaries to create employment opportunities and increase household incomes.
Kuteesa called on the government and development partners to expand women’s access to affordable financing, arguing that increased capital would enable female entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and strengthen their economic resilience. She also urged greater efforts to address cultural barriers that continue to limit women’s economic participation, questioning why many women still lack land ownership despite their substantial contribution to the country’s economy.
She said unequal access to land remains a major obstacle to women’s development, reinforcing harmful cultural practices that restrict their ability to build wealth and contribute fully to national economic growth.
Women who participated in the nearly two-year programme shared testimonies of how the initiative had transformed their livelihoods through entrepreneurship training, financial support and access to green business opportunities. They appealed to the government to sustain and expand similar programmes so that more women across Uganda can benefit from economic empowerment initiatives.