Joseph Lobot, the LC5 chairperson of the Amudat district said that the Grow project was well thought out but miscalculated when the proponents thought that all women were equal in terms of entrepreneurship skills, capability, and legalization of enterprises.
A section of local leaders in South Karamoja has
asked the government to consider redesigning the process of acquiring GROW loan
funds.
The Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for
Women Enterprises (GROW) project is a government initiative of Uganda,
supported by the World Bank with a grant of USD 217 million. It is implemented
by the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development and the Private
Sector Foundation Uganda.
In June 2024, the Ministry of Gender extended the GROW
project to Karamoja to benefit women entrepreneurs, and the project is expected
to end in 2027.
Grow project loans have an interest rate of 10.5 percent per
annum for women nationwide. However, women in Karamoja, Bukedi, and
Busoga had their interest reduced to 8.5 percent per annum as part
of the affirmative action.
Despite the reduction, the guidelines, especially the
collateral requirements, remain a barrier for women in Karamoja.
Currently, the GROW loan requires eligible women
entrepreneurs to provide at least some basic forms of security as a
demonstration of commitment to repay the loan. The collateral requirements vary
by bank and depend on the amount to be borrowed. Collateral requirements
include registered and unregistered land, movable household, and business
assets.
The leaders have stressed that women in Karamoja are struggling to access loans due to bureaucracy and lack of
collateral requirements since they are not entitled to family assets. They calling
for the government to revise the loan application processes and also consider
affirmative action for women in Karamoja.
Joseph Lobot, the LCV Chairperson of the Amudat district, said that the Grow project was well thought out but miscalculated when the
proponents thought that all women were equal in terms of entrepreneurship
skills, capability, and legalisation of enterprises.
Lobot asked the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development
to consider redesigning the project based on location-specific needs if they want the
women in Karamoja to equally benefit.
Lobot said that the project has not benefited anyone from the
Amudat district due to the bureaucracy in the registration processes. He stressed
that the women in Karamoja are not allowed to own land as a factor of
production, and this challenges them in acquiring the land title required as a
collateral requirement.
Lobot said that there is a need for affirmative action and to
consider factors that surround the cultural norms that restrict women from
other practices.
Lobot also observed that the transactions are done through
banks, and this challenges women in Amudat district, where there is no single
bank.
He added that the women accessing bank services shall have
to travel 140 kilometres to Mbale city or 130 kilometres to Moroto district.
Lobot said that there are over 100 women who have shown
interest and registered to benefit from the grant, but none of them have
received money because of the tight policies.
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Paul Lokol, the LC5 Chairperson of the Nabilatuk district, shares
the same frustration, stating that the women have put the leaders on the spot
over the GROW Money after spending their money on the loan application.
Lokol said that there is a lot of demand for money, and most
of the women opened up companies and bank accounts to get money, but all in
vain.
Lokol expressed his fears that he may lose his political
seat over the GROW money if it is not delivered to the beneficiaries, because he
has been at the forefront of mobilising women. He urged the government to downsize the
project if there is no money to cater to a large population.
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John Paul Kodet, the LCV Chairperson of the Napak district, appealed to the government to allocate each district in Karamoja the money for
the women so that they can easily access it.
Kodet said that the women are currently stuck and cannot
access any money because of the tight guidelines in place.
He said that it is unfortunate that is money is already
finished from the banks when none of the women have received it.
Kodet said that the district has not yet benefited from the
project, and they are still drumming up government such that the women can
access the loans to improve their household income.
