By GNNA Reporter
Lira
Women entrepreneurs in Lango Sub-region, have asked the government to support them with capital to add value to their products.
During an engagement meeting organized by the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development under the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project in Lira City, the women complained that financial constraints and lack of machines are hindering them from adding value and exporting their produce.
Stella Adero, is a member of Cankwia Goro Women’s Shoe Craft which makes shoes using vehicle tyres in Dokolo District.
Adero said they make the shoes by hand, and the little profit can only buy materials such as threads and tyres and not support the expansion of the business.
She added that apart from the financial constraints, they have limited market for their products.
“Our products are produced from all the nine districts in Lango Sub-region but are only consumed within the sub-region. The government should avail us with sewing machinery so that we improve on the quality, and add value to the products we produce,” Adero said.
“The Kitenge I am dressed in are imported from Nigeria and other countries. Our prayer is that the government should also get us markets for our products so that we can join the world market in a healthy competition,” she added.
Florence Akello, who heads Three Shea Nut Oil women’s groups in Lango sub-region, said their machine cannot produce a high volume of shea oil, which limits their expansion plans.
The group makes products such as shea butter lotion and shea butter cream, but the machine can produce less than 30 tins of shea butter and cream a day.
Akello said although their products are clean, they lack the funds to get them certified by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).
“We don’t have capital. We lack enough stores. As we kneel before you, we request you to support us,” Akello said.
Government aid
Alex Asiimwe, the Commissioner of Labor, Industrial Relations, and Productivity in the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development said the purpose of engaging the women entrepreneurs was to prepare them to empower and increase their access to the project services.
Asiimwe pledged that in January 2024, the ministry would have another round of engagement to capture the needs and interests of the entrepreneurs.
“For instance, if they need finance. Do they require grants such as performance grants? All those are services in these projects,” Asiimwe said.
He said the GROW project is an integrated package of services such as skills training, access to finance, and economic infrastructure, which can prepare entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
The Minister for Gender, Labor, and Social Development, Betty Amongi, acknowledged that most women entrepreneurs need machinery to make more products.
Amongi said that business groups that have products will be supported with loans of 10% interest by selected commercial banks and cooperatives.
“We are also going to have products for both matching grants and competition grants. We are going to have exchange visits and training which will be placements in areas where you obtain business development skills,” Amongi added.
What the Private sector says
Rebecca Kukundakwe, a Gender Specialist at Private Sector Foundation Uganda(PSFU), said they will be offering business development services to women entrepreneurs so that they realize the impact of their services countrywide.
“As we inspected the stalls, Hon Minister, we realized that there are things we need to do as the private sector. And with your leadership and support, we can promise that not so many years from now when we come back here, these women entrepreneurs we have visited will be at another level,” Kukundakwe said.
The groups dealing in shea nut products in Lango sub-region include; Can Omia Diro shea nut group, Moo Yao Women’s Group, and Note Ber shea nut group.
