NEWS- The Minister for Security Hon Maj Gen Jim Muhwezi has hailed Uganda Investment Authority and Bank of Uganda for creating awareness about the Small Business Recovery Fund (SBRF) and Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF) which are aimed at helping support the people recover from COVID-19 pandemic losses.
Gen Muhwezi made the remarks March 16th 2024 while speaking as the Guest of Honor at the one day workshop at Heritage Hotel in Rukungiri District on Small Business Recovery Fund where the Business Community and farmers were enlightened about the availability of the funds that the government put in place to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister Muhwezi said that the Small Business Recovery Fund and Agricultural Credit Facility are a deliberate government initiative that is aimed at supporting individuals or associations to access funds at a low interest rate and pay back in 4 years and thanked the many people who turned up to get the awareness because it showed that the people need the money.
Earlier the representative of Bank of Uganda which is the lead government Agency in these programs, Richard Byarugaba said that an individual can apply for up to Ugx 200 million from any participating Bank if he has the minimum requirements to access the money.
Byarugaba said that the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises ( MSMEs) are by far the engine of growth for Uganda in terms of economic development, innovation and wealth creation that make up 90% of the private sector and employ more than 2.5 million Ugandans, therefore their contributions can not be ignored.
Byarugaba who is also the Executive Director of Finance in Bank of Uganda, noted that lack of access to affordable financial muscle to expand and grow businesses is constraining this growth since these small enterprises rely heavily on daily cashflow which were mostly affected by COVID-19 lockdown as the government struggled to control the spread of the pandemic.
He said that the Agricultural Credit Facility which was initiated by Bank of Uganda long before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, 14 years ago has seen the bank lend up to Ugx 840.96 billions to 3,744 beneficiaries thus creating jobs and market to small holder farmers who acquired agricultural machinery to increase farm production and productivity.
This initiative is coupled with acquisition of processing machinery for value addition and infrastructural development for post handling warehouses as well as cold storage facilities for perishable agricultural products.
Byarugaba however noted that the uptake of the Small Business Recovery Fund has been low and only 2,344 applications worth Ugx 38.14 billion from 8 participating financial institutions have been approved.
Some of the participating Financial Institutions include Stanbic, Centenary Bank, Post Bank, Opportunity Bank, Equity Bank Absa Bank, Pride Microfinance and UGAFODE had representatives at the workshop and guided the participants on how to access the funds.
Byarugaba, however asked the participating financial institutions to have a responsibility to mitigate credit risks when making lending decisions by minimizing the risk of borrowers to repay the loans and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) also have an role to play in increasing their chances of accessing credit by ensuring that they have good cash flows, maintain proper financial records, have good credit history as well as good standing character to benefit.
While speaking at the same event, the Chairman of Uganda Investment Authority Morrison Rwakakamba thanked the Government of Uganda for the enabling security environment that has made the business and investment environment flourish in the country.
He particularly thanked the government of Uganda for the construction of Rukungiri – Ishasha – Kanungu Road which will go a long way in increasing trade volumes between Ugandan businesses and their counterparts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwakakamba emphasized that the workshop is an eye opener to the business community to access the Small Business Recovery Fund which is available participating Banks which the business community can use to expand their businesses and said that Rukungiri is strategically located because of the Road that connects the entire country to Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo which the business community should capitalize on.
Rukungiri District Chairman Geoffrey Kyomukama said that the Small Business Recovery Fund was a God sent opportunity for the people especially the business community to redirect their businesses and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and asked them to make proper enterprise selections in order to benefit from the same.
Rukungiri District Traders Association Chairperson Chrysostom Byaruhanga Rwakana assured the organisers that they already developed the business plans and need over Ugx 1 billion to support their businesses since they have an association with all the needed documentation that is needed for them to be given the funds.
