Women in business have survived the high interest rates charged by money lenders and other institutions ever since the GROW loan was introduced to help them secure loans at interest rates as low as 10%. The GROW loan was introduced by the Generating Growth and Productivities for Women Entrepreneurs (GROW) Project to help women grow their businesses from micro to small and medium enterprises.
The GROW Project was launched by President Museveni on last year’s women’s day and it was announced that the World Bank has released funds of $217m (about shillings 800 billion) to help women entrepreneurs in all different parts of the country including refugee settlements. The loan after being introduced has helped women in business in a period less than a year.
Nantongo Doreen owns a retail shop dealing in shoes, suitcases and handbags in Mutungo Zone located in Nakawa Division. Nantongo has been running the business for the last 10 years since 2015 and she had not witnessed any proper growth in business but because of her resilience, she thrived on. Nantongo confirms that her breakthrough has finally come and this was recently when she got to learn about the GROW loan while attending church at Canaan Land Church in Makerere Kavule. She attended a church training for women entrepreneurs and the GROW loan project coordinator Dr Aisha Ruth Biyinzika Kasolo
Her breakthrough came when Pastor Bugingo of Canaan Land Church, organized a training session for women entrepreneurs. During the training, Dr. Ruth Biyinzika Kasolo, the GROW Loan Project Coordinator, was invited as the keynote speaker. In her speech, she talked about the incredible opportunities available under the GROW Project, particularly the GROW Loan and Nantongo knew this was the opportunity she had been waiting for after searching for affordable loan options for years but hadn’t found any.
With just collateral, a trading license, national identity card, passport photos, guarantors, and a letter from the LC1 chairperson, Nantongo applied for a loan of shs15,000,000 and it was approved by Finance Trust Bank. She used the funds to renovate her shop, purchase a new display for her products, and even renovate her rental units.
With her business thriving, she also opened a kiosk in Nakawa Market, where she began selling fast food snacks. This diversification was part of her strategy to broaden her income sources, and the GROW loan provided the financial boost she needed.
