The GROW Project coordinator discusses the initiative’s financing model, women’s enterprise development, field monitoring and the challenge of turning credit into sustainable businesses.
By Brian Mugenyi
Q&A: Dr Biyinzika Ruth Kasolo, GROW Project Coordinator
Q: What is the main objective of the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project?
Dr Biyinzika Ruth: The project is designed to improve women entrepreneurs’ access to financing and business-development services. It seeks to support women-owned enterprises to grow, improve productivity and create employment. The intention is to address some of the barriers that prevent women from expanding their businesses.
Q: Why was a programme specifically targeting women-owned enterprises necessary?
Biyinzika Ruth: Women entrepreneurs have business ideas, practical skills and the determination to establish enterprises, but access to capital and other business support can be a challenge. GROW is intended to help address those barriers by providing financing alongside business-development support.
Q: How is the project structured institutionally?
Biyinzika Ruth: GROW is a Government of Uganda initiative supported by the World Bank. It is implemented through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in partnership with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda. The project became effective on January 20, 2023, with US$217 million in World Bank financing.
Q: What sectors are covered by the project?
Biyinzika Ruth: The project covers several productive sectors, including agriculture, agro-processing and value addition, manufacturing, construction, science and technology, services, creative arts and information and communication technology. The objective is to support women-owned enterprises in different areas of economic activity.
Q: What are the eligibility requirements for women seeking financing under the GROW Loan?
Biyinzika Ruth: For eligible micro and small enterprises, at least 51 per cent of the shareholding must be owned by women. The financing is intended to support qualifying businesses that need capital to establish, strengthen or expand their operations.
Q: What financing opportunities are available to beneficiaries?
Biyinzika Ruth: The programme information provides for loans ranging from Shs2 million to Shs200 million, with a minimum of Shs1 million for refugees. The stated repayment period is up to 24 months, with interest rates of up to 10 per cent annually.
Q: Is access to credit enough to guarantee the growth of a woman-owned business?
Biyinzika Ruth: Financing is important, but it is not the only requirement for a business to succeed. Entrepreneurs also need business-management skills, financial planning, reliable markets and the ability to manage their investments. That is why the project includes business-development services alongside financing.
Q: What progress has the GROW Financing Facility recorded?
Biyinzika Ruth: As of June 30, 2026, the GROW Financing Facility had recorded 10,096 loans, with cumulative disbursements of approximately Shs161 billion through 14 participating financial institutions.
Q: How should these figures be understood in relation to the project’s impact?
Biyinzika Ruth: The disbursement figures show the scale of lending activity. However, the broader objective is to support businesses to grow, improve productivity and create employment. It is important to understand what beneficiaries are achieving with the financing and the challenges they experience as they operate their businesses.
Q: Why does the project place emphasis on field monitoring and engagement with beneficiaries?
Biyinzika Ruth: Field engagement helps the programme understand what is happening among the women entrepreneurs receiving support. Through interactions with beneficiaries, the teams can learn about their businesses, how financing is being used, their achievements and the challenges they face. This information is important in understanding programme progress.
Q: What is the role of the field teams in Western and Eastern Uganda?
Biyinzika Ruth: The field engagements are part of the effort to assess progress and engage beneficiaries in different parts of the country. The teams interact with entrepreneurs and gather information about their businesses. Their observations help connect the programme’s national objectives with the realities facing women entrepreneurs in local communities.
Q: What happens after the field teams meet beneficiaries?
Biyinzika Ruth: The engagements provide information about business activities, the use of financing and the support entrepreneurs may need. They also help the programme understand whether enterprises are progressing and what challenges could affect their sustainability.
Q: What lessons can be drawn from beneficiaries such as Christine Muheirwe in Isingiro District?
Biyinzika Ruth: Her experience illustrates how financing can support an enterprise and create employment. She received a Shs55 million loan through Opportunity Bank to support her restaurant, which she says employs 12 workers—five men and seven women. Such experiences help demonstrate how business financing can extend its benefits beyond the individual borrower.
Q: Other beneficiaries have invested in retail businesses, livestock, agriculture and rental properties. What does this tell us about the programme?
Biyinzika Ruth: Women entrepreneurs operate in different sectors and have different business needs. Some invest in retail, others in agriculture, livestock, hospitality or property. It is important to understand the individual businesses and the opportunities and challenges associated with each enterprise.
Q: What challenges should women entrepreneurs address after receiving loans?
Biyinzika Ruth: Entrepreneurs need to manage their finances carefully, control costs, attract customers and understand their repayment obligations. They also need to identify reliable markets and make sound business decisions to sustain their enterprises.
Q: How does GROW intend to support women beyond the initial financing?
Biyinzika Ruth: The project includes business-development services, technical skills, mentorship, networking and market opportunities. These are important because access to finance must be accompanied by the capacity to manage and grow an enterprise.
Q: What would you consider the ultimate measure of success for GROW?
Biyinzika Ruth: The wider objective is to support women-owned enterprises to become more productive and sustainable. The progress of the project should therefore be understood through the businesses women establish and grow, the employment they create and the income their enterprises generate.
Q: What is your message to women entrepreneurs who want to benefit from the programme?
Biyinzika Ruth: Women entrepreneurs should take advantage of available opportunities while ensuring that they understand the financing conditions and responsibilities that come with borrowing. They need to plan carefully, manage their businesses and use the support available to strengthen their enterprises.
The wider economic mission
GROW’s contribution to Uganda’s economy will ultimately depend on whether supported businesses can survive, expand and create sustainable employment.
As of June 30, 2026, the facility had recorded approximately Shs161 billion in cumulative disbursements. However, the number of loans and the amount disbursed are only part of the story.
In Bukanga, Nakivale, Isingiro District, Christine Muheirwe says a Shs55 million loan through Opportunity Bank helped her establish a restaurant employing 12 people.
Other beneficiaries are investing in retail trade, drinks businesses, coffee production, livestock and rental properties.
Their experiences illustrate the range of enterprises supported through the programme. They also demonstrate why monitoring must look beyond financing figures to examine business performance, employment, income generation and loan repayment.
For Dr Biyinzika Ruth and the GROW team, the responsibility is to connect the programme’s national economic objectives with the experiences of women entrepreneurs operating businesses across Uganda.
The ultimate measure will be whether access to capital, business-development services and field support enables women to build enterprises that remain productive and sustainable.
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