PSFU announces dfcu Bank as implementing Financial Institution for nationwide GROW Project

By Namutebi Sumayiya

dfcu Bank has been unveiled as one of a limited selection of Financial Institutions that will implement the GROW (Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Initiative across Uganda.

 The announcement was held at an event hosted by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to officially launch the initiative. The Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Jessica Rose Epel Alupo officiated over the event which was attended by multiple Ministers, Members of Parliament, Development Organisation partners and female business owners.

The GROW Project, funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PFSU), aims to increase access to entrepreneurial services for women entrepreneurs across Uganda.

As an implementing partner, dfcu Bank will avail women entrepreneurs with the necessary financial and financial literacy resources needed to scale their businesses and create more jobs.

This collaboration aligns with dfcu Bank' longstanding commitment to empowering women entrepreneurs and supporting their businesses' growth and advancing economic growth nationwide.

Speaking at the event, Kate Kiiza, dfcu Bank’s Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer remarked, “Our participation in GROW is for dfcu Bank, the obvious and next part of our story of Transforming the lives and businesses of Ugandan women entrepreneurs, a journey we have been on since the launch of the dfcu Women in Business Program in 2007.

This was a first of its kind program in Uganda and we followed that up with establishing aWomen Business Advisory Council in 2012. In 2015, we set up a Women in Business Advisory Center located at the Bank’s headquarters in Nakasero. Here, we exclusively serve female entrepreneurs.”

She noted that since its inception in 2007, approximately 85,000 women have signed onto the dfcu Women in Business program.

“For dfcu Bank, investing in women is good business and will always be good business. For the families and communities, who reap direct, vast economic and social benefits and for the countries whose economies grow stronger and stand firmer,” Kiiza added.

“With GROW, we believe that we will create avenues for effective public policy, networking, and inclusive solutions which meet the needs of women business owners, where they are,” Kiiza concluded.

In her remarks, The Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Jessica Rose Epel applauded the

Government of the Republic of Uganda, the World Bank, the Private Sector Foundation and all the other partners who will implement the tremendous project.

“We expect that the results from the implementation of GROW will serve our country and communities in impactful and long-standing ways. By working together to remove the barriers that women face, we will create progress and reward women’s skills and creativity—to help build a better tomorrow for all of us,” she noted.

dfcu was established in 1964 as a development finance institution. Over the years dfcu has been associated with many success stories in Uganda’s economy in various sectors including agribusiness, communication, education, health, manufacturing, tourism, real estate, mining, construction, transport, trade and commerce, among others.