There is no society that can flourish without supporting the prospects of its women workforce. In Uganda and Africa at large, women have been struggling to achieve gender balance and equality in workplaces. These social barriers are however being broken and this has driven many women to push for the development of their skills and knowledge in order to embark on new business ventures.
There are many successful women entrepreneurs in various industries in Uganda. Their success in these businesses has paved way for budding women entrepreneurs. Growing up, girls are now more than ever looking up to these successful women to seek guidance, take lessons and chart their own paths to success. But women are still somewhat minority business owners in our communities although the government of Uganda has put in place various policies to support the girl child as well as advocacy for gender equality despite the girls and women still facing challenges such as; male domination, lack of education, culture norms, financial constraints, among others.
There is a growing need to increase entrepreneurship among women and provide capital for women entrepreneurs. We should not only stop at providing capital but also find markets and connect the women entrepreneurs and their businesses to these markets.
The role of women in businesses is very important because of the contribution they can make to economic growth and development. They care about economic empowerment, entrepreneurial development and innovation. It is important to note that the growing influence of their businesses has changed the shape of our economies. The number of female entrepreneurs is increasing and they now own 25% of all businesses globally.
To increase this influence and ensure that the number of women entrepreneurs continues to grow, we need to support them so that they achieve their full potential. dfcu Bank started a program called Women in Business (dfcu WiB) and through this programme, we support Uganda women entrepreneurs. This year, we partnered with Daily Monitor and Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) to embark on an initiative called Rising Woman. Through this initiative, we provide a platform for women in business to grow their businesses, showcase women in business through profiling and advertising in selected media, provide women with financing solutions that meet their needs while removing the phobia for borrowing among women. We will also provide 150 women led/run businesses with a platform to exhibit their products later this year. To find out more about the Rising Woman Initiative visit https://www.dfcugroup.com/rising-woman/.
