Equity Bank Uganda has once again demonstrated its position as the leading banking institution for Ugandans at the MasterCard Foundation’s #YoungAfrica Works Dialogue, which took place at the Kampala Serena Hotel from February 18th-19th, 2025. This event aimed to create a platform for partners to exchange solutions and highlight innovations for the increasing youth workforce in Uganda.
As one of the participants in the #YoungAfricaWorks initiative, Equity Bank illustrated its efforts to tackle the challenge of limited access to financing by offering unsecured and adaptable loans, along with financial literacy training targeted at youth, women, and refugees.
The two-day event also focused on exploring solutions and sharing innovations focused on youth-driven entrepreneurship as a means to attain dignified and satisfying employment. Moreover, the event featured impactful stories from participants who have benefited from Equity Bank through this program. One such individual was Lydia, who secured a loan from Equity Bank to revive her clothing business, enabling her to support her family.
Another success story is Mudenya Connie, a young entrepreneur from Kamonkoli Village in Eastern Uganda with a fresh juice business, who has taken part in this program. In 2022, Connie received a loan from the Mbale Branch that allowed her to expand her juice venture.
“That loan became the turning point in my life. With the funds, I invested in better equipment, scaled up my production and became one of the go-to fresh juice suppliers in Mbale, Budaka and Pallisa.
As my business grew, I was able to employ four young women and add two additional outlets to meet the demand,” said Mudenya Connie.
Mudenya is a participant in the Equity Bank’s Job Creation for Youth and Refugees program, utilizing Digital Applications and a Value Chain Focus initiative as part of the #YoungAfricaWorks Strategy.
While speaking at the event, Adrian Bukenya, the Country Director for Uganda Programs at the MasterCard Foundation, encouraged all attendees to devise various strategies to ensure that youth have access to financial opportunities. He also urged the development of solutions that align the efforts of the government, private sector, civil society, and young people.
“Today is about honest conversations, shared learnings and deep reflections. So I challenge each of us to think about how we can strengthen partnerships so that no young person is left behind.
How do we design solutions that are adaptable, scalable, and sustainable and ensure that we work together, as governments, private sector, civil society and the young people themselves to share growth? Today, let’s just not talk, but let’s listen, reflect, and most importantly commit to action.”
In his comments regarding access to finance for youth, women, and refugees, Nelson Mugisha, Equity Bank’s Team Leader for Enterprise Development and Financial Literacy, discussed the advancements made through this partnership.
He stated that over the past five years of their collaboration, they have created job opportunities for hundreds of thousands of women, refugees, and youth.
Additionally, they have disbursed hundreds of billions in loans, and he emphasized that they have gained valuable insights from the youth on how to better serve the country.
“In the 5 years that we have been part of program, we have created job opportunities for 123,000+ youth, women & refugees and disbursed UGX 106 billion in loans.”
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“During the duration of the program we have learned a lot of lessons to help us serve youth better. Some of these are:
- The bank has adopted a detailed financial literacy and entrepreneurship education program for the borrowing youth
- The bank has developed more products such as our Youth SME loan to further meet young people’s financial needs.
- The bank also now provides loans to refugees.”
