By Stanley Ebele, Jeniffer Acheng and Alexander Mackey Okori
The stringent guidelines in accessing the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project loan have left several women entrepreneurs in Kotido frustrated and disillusioned.
The gender ministry-based project worth Shs824 billion, launched in September 2024, is a Ugandan government initiative, funded by the World Bank, to empower women entrepreneurs by increasing access to entrepreneurial services and resources, ultimately supporting their business growth and job creation.
Despite the project being touted as a key driver of economic growth and development as its set to benefit 1.6 million financially handicapped people directly, the reality on the ground tells a different story.
In order for any woman entrepreneur to access a loan of between Sh4million and Shs400million, she needs to among others possess a running business, provide collateral like land tittle, agreement or a house, have a trading license, provide audited books of accounts, pay for application forms, stamp duty fee, credit bureau CRB fees among others.
However, a number of women entrepreneurs described the set requirements as too ambiguous for them to afford, especially for women at grass root level.
Maritina Kiyonga of Kotido municipal council said that the application process is lengthy and complicated application process as it involves multiple forms, documents, and approvals.
According to her, many of women have been left waiting for weeks, even months, for their applications to be processed, only to be told that they need to provide additional documentation or clarification.
“I applied for the loan six months ago, but I’m still waiting for a response. The process is so slow and cumbersome, it’s like they don’t want to give us the money”, she explained.
Jenifer Nakiru, a produce dealer at Kotido central pointed out that the stringent guidelines have not only frustrated applicants but have also delayed access to critical funding, hindering business growth and development.
She quarried why the banks are asking for land title, marriage certificates, proof of business ownership and registration certificate, and a 51% share for women in registered companies.
Another entrepreneur who preferred anonymity said the enticing information provided during the grow project launch is not what women got on ground.
“Most of the women have shied away from accessing the funds and instead opted for other provisions like VSLA’S and normal bank loans” she recounted.
Rosemary Napio, the female councilor, central division said requirements like land tittles are unrealistic especially for women who don’t own land, noting that most women who had intentions of borrowing the money have already given up.
Jessica Ataa, the NAROA executive director, an organization that works with women groups emphasised need for government to relax the requirements in order for every woman to access the loans, for sustainable livelihood.
The Centenary Bank Manager for Kotido Branch, Jhanan Obong Olum noted that besides presenting the required documents, the applicants go through rigorous assessment including applicant’s personal details such as information about change of marital status if any.
However, Joseph Nyende, the Centenary Bank Monitoring and Evaluation Manager in charge of the Grow project, noted that they give priority to women from Karamoja sub region who will apply.
In her part, the Kotido Municipal Community Development Officer, Lilly Lemukol clarified that whereas a lot of women own businesses, most of them are not legally registered.
She explained that the grow project is not for every woman, but only those with serious businesses, further imploring those who cannot afford the grow loan to opt for other government programs like Emyooga and the parish development model.
“We understand the frustration, but we have to follow the procedures to ensure that the funds are used for the intended purpose,” Lemukol emphasised.
She revealed that so far 12 women have benefited from the Grow Project in Kotido municipality as of March, 2025, after meeting at the set requirements.
These are part of 120 applicants who expressed interest for the loan between 2024 and this year.
Recently the Cabinet announced a reduction on the interest rate for Karamoja, Busoga and Bukedi women from 10.5 percent to 8.5 percent as an affirmative action on the GROW Project.
Statistics obtained from the ministry of Gender Labour and social development indicate that over 5,000 applications have been received for the Grow Project Loan nationally, but only 15 percent of applicants have received funding to date.
According to the Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2024/2025, only Shs 18.52 billion out of Shs 75.1 billion was spent.
The report further indicates the unspent balance of Shs56.6 billion affected the provision of line of credit to financial participating institutions that were supposed to finance the beneficiaries.
