Mudiwa, the CEO of dfcu bank interacting with clients in Gulu City at Acholi Inn. Photo by Arnest Tumwesige
By Arnest Tumwesige
Gulu: As Development Finance Company of Uganda (DFCU) celebrated 60 years of existence in the country, focus was put on the need to improve its footprint within the community through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Irene Ocwee, the director of Hilder Nursery and Primary School located in Laroo-Pece division, Gulu City said dfcu should not be known for businesses alone but also put more resources into corporate social responsibilities for the community to appreciate the institution.
Ocwee however commended the employees for the good customer care exhibited. She noted the unique digital features that have been introduced to ease banking services at customer’s convenience.
“You can access exchange rate at any time you want, I sit in my office and I can know what is happening,” she explained.
She commends the bank for saving their clients from queuing and following long bureaucracies.
Bank helping civil servants
George Kidega Nicholas, the Principle Commercial Officer of Gulu City Commended the bank for extending loans to civil servants towards construction of residential houses.
Kidega cited that many teachers who benefited from DFCU bank loans now have their own residential houses and motorbikes for their transport or businesses.
He observed that building contractors are also able to complete their projects in time, thanks to the loans.
“Previously, people were suffering (failing) to compete favorably with other investors from the country. But I saw many (people), when they get contracts, they run to DFCU and they’re given a loan to finance such contracts,” he said.
DFCU bank was founded on May 14, 1964 by the government of Uganda barely two years after Independence Day to support development in Uganda.
Remarkable achievement
Charles M. Mudiwa, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bank assured Ugandans that their financial institution is non-foreign.
“DFCU is a Ugandan bank, truly Ugandan founded by the government of Uganda in 1964 to facilitate development in Uganda through financing which is still being done to date,” Midiwa expalined.
To that effect, the CEO said it was the first bank to recognize the importance of women and thus introduced the Rising Woman Initiative in 2018 under the Women in Business (WiB) Program.
The project which ran for six years was held under the theme: “Taking your business ahead”. It was meant to recognize, celebrate and promote a culture of mentorship among female entrepreneurs in Uganda and targeted local business women and small-scale investors.
Over the years, the bank has equally supported 130,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); 28,000 individual farmers in Uganda and 83,000 SACCOs are its clients.
In July 2023, the banking institution entered into partnership with Rabo Bank which is one of the largest in the world and MasterCard Foundation to support agriculture.
The strategic partnership is aimed at digitalizing the agricultural ecosystem in Uganda. The collaboration aims to uplift smallholder farmers and other agricultural value chain actors by enhancing their access to markets and credit, thereby improving their livelihoods.
