Economic Growth Uganda Project #61102

Micro-loans to rural Women entrepreneurs in Uganda

by Soil Health & Climate Action Network (SHCAN)

Project Report | Oct 16, 2026
From Smallholder Farming to Entrepreneurship: How a Microloan Is Helping Stella to Better livelihood

By Oliver Namusisi | Project Leader

For many smallholder farmers in rural communities, relying solely on agriculture can make it difficult to meet household needs, especially when faced with unpredictable weather, fluctuating market prices, and seasonal income. For Stella, a smallholder farmer in the kikonoka village, diversifying her sources of income became an important step towards improving her livelihood.

Through the Soil Health & Climate Action Network (SHCAN) and its microloan initiative, Strengthening Women-Owned Micro Businesses, Stella received a microloan that enabled her to start a restaurant within her community. This opportunity allowed her to expand beyond farming and establish an additional source of income to support her household.

With the financial support, Stella was able to venture into the restaurant business, providing meals to community members while building a small enterprise of her own. Her restaurant serves as a source of livelihood and an opportunity to respond to the everyday needs of people in her community.

Starting the restaurant marked an important milestone in Stella’s journey towards economic empowerment. Rather than depending entirely on income from farming, she now has an opportunity to earn from both agriculture and her restaurant business. This diversification can help her manage the uncertainties associated with farming and create greater financial stability for her household.

Stella’s experience demonstrates how access to affordable microfinance can help rural women turn their business ideas into practical income-generating activities. Beyond providing financial capital, SHCAN’s microloan initiative seeks to empower women to explore new economic opportunities, strengthen their businesses, and improve their livelihoods.

Her journey reflects the importance of supporting smallholder farmers, particularly women, with the financial resources they need to diversify their income and become more economically resilient.

Through its microloan initiative, SHCAN continues to promote women’s economic empowerment by creating opportunities for rural women to invest in small businesses, diversify their livelihoods, and contribute to the development of their communities. Stella’s story is a reminder that access to modest financial support can open doors to new opportunities and help women take meaningful steps towards economic independence.

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Jun 22, 2026
Strengthening Women-Owned Micro Businesses

By Oliver Namusisi | Project Leader

The Microloan Project is an innovative initiative designed to support people operating micro businesses and help them progress from one level of income to another. The project adopts a two-pronged approach: providing women with loans that correspond to the scale of their business operations, while simultaneously equipping them with business development and management skills through training and routine monitoring visits. This approach is intended to enable beneficiaries to effectively utilize the loans, grow their enterprises, and eventually outgrow the need for small loans as their businesses become more sustainable and profitable.

As part of the project implementation, three groups mainly composed of women were identified and supported. The women first underwent training in business development and management skills and were subsequently provided with loans to strengthen and expand their businesses. The enterprises supported included sandal businesses, food stalls, general merchandise shops and agricultural businesses.

The trainings were conducted on 11 March 2026 in Bulyango and Bujwahya, and 12 March 2026 in Mbaraara. The objective of these sessions was to equip women with the knowledge and practical skills needed to start, grow, and sustain profitable enterprises. In Hoima District, many small businesses face challenges such as limited capital, inadequate record keeping, poor financial management, and restricted access to markets. The training therefore sought to address these gaps and improve participants' capacity to manage their businesses more effectively.

The training covered the following areas:

Transforming business ideas into practical and viable business ventures;
Understanding the components of a business plan;
Setting business goals and objectives;
Basic bookkeeping and record keeping;
Cash flow management;
Budget preparation;
Savings and investment practices;
Accessing and managing loans responsibly;
Stock control methods;
Managing suppliers and business relationships;
Marketing and customer care.

At the conclusion of the training, ten women received financial support in the form of microloans to boost their businesses. The loans were tailored to the size and needs of each enterprise to ensure that the funds could be productively invested. Beneficiaries are expected to repay the loans after a period of three months, allowing the revolving fund to support additional women entrepreneurs in the future.

Through the combination of access to finance, practical business skills, and ongoing follow-up visits, the project is expected to improve business performance, increase household incomes, strengthen women's economic resilience, and contribute to sustainable livelihoods within the targeted communities.

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Feb 26, 2026
Training for farmers' group

By Oliver Namusisi | Project Leader

Farmers during the training

On 21 February 2026, we held a training for Twesigagane group in Mbaraara. The training tookplace at one of the group member's residence found in Mbaraara trading centre. The training focused at empowering farmers with essential business skills, aiming to improve the sustainability of new enterprises and increase income, particularly for women and rural entrepreneurs. The training covered financial management, record-keeping, and marketing, is linked to higher profitability and better loan repayment rates.

Objectives of Training

To provide entrepreneurs with necessary management skills to run their businesses effectively.
To teach basic record-keeping, allowing beneficiaries to track profits, losses, and stock on a weekly/monthly basis.
To reduce loan delinquency (defaults) by educating borrowers on financial obligations and business sustainability.
To encourage structured planning and strategic business growth.

Key Topics Covered during the training

Financial Management: Bookkeeping, cash flow management, and understanding profit/loss.
Business Planning & Strategy: Goal setting, marketing, and market analysis.
Loan Compliance: Training on interest rates, repayment schedules, and loan insurance.
Technical Skills: Sector-specific knowledge (Forexample effective agricultural techniques).

Outcome of the training

Farmers were gained knowledge on better record-keeping and more informed decision-making regarding inventory and sales.

Training equipped farmers with knowledge to set goals for their businesses inorder to keep on track and expand their businesses.

Challenge

Micro loan was tailored for women but more men turned up for the training. We encourged those men to inspire and support their wives to join such saving groups in order to grow their family income.

Action point

Participants will write down goals for their businesses for next five years.

Enterpreneurs will fill in the loan application forms

Our staff will carry out assessment for their farmers

Issue out loans for qualified businesses

Training is a crucial component in empowering entrepreneurs in business and loan management.

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