Empowering women entrepreneurs: Insights from Uganda’s 2025/26 Budget

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OPINION

By CPA Rosette Maska

Introduction

Uganda’s 2025/2026 budget signals a growing commitment to inclusive economic development, with notable focus on programmes supporting women-led enterprises. This reflects deliberate efforts to reduce gender disparities in entrepreneurship. The article examines the scope and potential impact of these allocations, particularly the structural and financial tools aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs.

Notably, the Uganda Revenue Authority has also stepped up efforts to simplify tax compliance and provide targeted support for women-led businesses, reinforcing the broader agenda of economic inclusion.

Despite their growing role in both formal and informal sectors, women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers such as limited credit access and inadequate business support. The current budget cycle presents a key opportunity to assess how public finance can drive gender-responsive economic transformation and meet the practical needs of women in business.

Key budget provisions targeting women entrepreneurs

1. Uganda Development Bank (UDB) and Affordable Finance.

To tackle long-standing constraints in access to credit, the Uganda Development Bank has been further resourced to expand affordable financing options. A portion of this financing is directed toward small and medium-sized enterprises in sectors such as agriculture and agribusiness, where women entrepreneurs are particularly active, to support industrialisation, agricultural commercialisation, and acquisition of appropriate technologies to increase productivity. Long-term, accessible finance through UDB presents opportunities for women to scale their businesses, though the success of such interventions remains contingent on the inclusiveness of access criteria.

2. Private Sector Development and INVITE Fund

Under the broader private sector development strategy, women entrepreneurs are expected to benefit from targeted grant support, capacity-building interventions, and enterprise development services. Thousands of women are slated to receive technical and entrepreneurial training across various regions. In addition, the forthcoming INVITE fund is intended to strengthen the competitiveness of export-ready and growth-oriented enterprises, including those led by women, thereby facilitating their integration into wider value chains.

3. GROW Programme

The Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) programme stands out as a major targeted initiative in the new fiscal year. It is designed to support women-led micro and small enterprises through innovation grants and subsidised credit.

However, the programme has faced implementation challenges, particularly due to collateral requirements and interest terms that limit access. In response, the government has introduced other financing models to enhance accessibility and inclusivity.

4. Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) and Youth Livelihood Fund

Administered through the Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development, UWEP alongside the Youth Livelihood Programm,e continues to serve as a key mechanism for community-level economic empowerment. These programmes are tailored to improve access to capital for women and youth-led enterprises. Although they represent a modest share of overall economic development spending, their gender-specific orientation underscores the government’s intention to address historically underserved segments of the entrepreneurial population.

5. Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga

The Parish Development Model (PDM) emphasises bottom-up, community-driven development and is particularly focused on the agricultural and informal sector areas where many women entrepreneurs operate. The model is well-positioned to support women’s economic participation, especially in rural settings. Similarly, the Emyooga programme offers revolving capital to organised groups in specialised enterprise categories, a number of which are predominantly composed of women.

Critical reflections and emerging gaps

Despite these commendable commitments, several structural challenges continue to inhibit the full impact of these interventions. Chief among them are the collateral requirements attached to many formal credit schemes, which disproportionately affect women with limited asset ownership. Moreover, outreach to underserved and marginalized communities remains insufficient, and coordination across implementing agencies requires strengthening to improve delivery and efficiency.

Conclusion

Uganda’s 2025/2026 national budget signals a promising trajectory toward gender-inclusive economic empowerment. Through initiatives such as GROW, UWEP, PDM, and the financing opportunities offered by UDB, a multi-tiered framework has emerged that blends financial support with capacity development.

However, uptake challenges remain, necessitating complementary reforms such as the introduction of enhanced financial literacy and greater use of digital platforms to broaden outreach.

As Uganda continues to implement Vision 2040 and the third National Development Plan (NDPIII), gender-responsive budgeting must keep evolving from merely allocating resources to delivering transformative, inclusive results for women entrepreneurs across the country.

The writer is a businesswoman and member of UWEAL & USSIA