Minister Amongi confirms-GROW Project to benefit 1.6 million people indirectly

The Generating Growth Opportunities and productivity for women enterprises (GROW) will benefit 1.6 million people indirectly, the Minister of Gender, Labour And Social Development, Hon Betty Amongi has revealed.

“The project development objective is to increase access to entrepreneurial services that enable female entrepreneurs to grow their enterprises in targeted locations, including in Refugee Hosting Districts (RHDs),” Amongi noted in a statement to parliament on Friday.

“The Project will benefit over 60,000 female owned enterprises including 3,000 refugee-owned businesses, 280,000 women entrepreneurs and employees including 42,000 refugees, 14,000 host community members and 1.6 million indirect beneficiaries,” she added.

GROW is an initiative of Government of Uganda, implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) as the Lead Implementing Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) through Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) as an Implementing Entity.

The project became effective on January 20, 2023, and is expected to conclude on December 31, 2027. It is funded by a grant from the World Bank (IDA-19) to the tune of USD 217 million, which includes USD 40 million specifically designated for refugees and host communities.

The Minister says during project design, analytical studies undertaken revealed multiple constraints that face women entrepreneurs.

“It includes inadequate business management skills; lack of access to affordable capital; limited access to common user manufacturing infrastructure and negative social norms that affect their participation in business,” she added.

Amongi emphasized that the Project is, therefore, responding to these identified constraints by providing an integrated package of services to help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

“The GROW Project was conceived to benefit women in business (entrepreneurs) mainly the micro and small business women entrepreneurs by providing tailored skilling opportunities, access to affordable financing and productive infrastructure.” She concluded.