(Jinja) – The one who convinces you to borrow a goat won’t be the one to milk it. And if you’re a woman from Busoga, First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga just served you a timely reminder: don’t let your husbands or boyfriends turn you into a human ATM with the new GROW funds.
At an event held at Jinja’s Nile Village Hotel, Kadaga delivered a message as sharp as a Butcher’s knife: “Ladies, borrow wisely! Don’t let your better halves or worse halves tell you to take loans on their behalf. When the time comes to pay, it’s your sweat that will drip, not theirs.”
The GROW project—short for Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises—is a government initiative that aims to empower women entrepreneurs by giving them access to loans. It’s like handing them the keys to a boda boda, but with a stern warning not to let anyone else take it for a joyride.
Kadaga’s caution was clear: love might be blind, but it shouldn’t make you financially blind. In a region where stories of men who are ‘experts’ in convincing their wives to take out loans only to vanish faster than morning dew are as common as jackfruit, her words struck a familiar chord. She was speaking to every woman who has ever had to explain to a lender why her husband’s ‘sure deal’ turned out to be as elusive as the legendary Musoga fish.
At the heart of her message was a simple truth: when the bank comes calling, they won’t be asking for your sweetheart’s sweet talk—they’ll want hard cash, and they’ll come to you.
Kadaga also urged banks involved in the GROW project to set up special desks for women to ensure that women have a clear path to financial empowerment without having to dodge any sneaky ‘business partners’ along the way.
These desks should be as visible as a kitenge dress at a village wedding, making it easy for women to access the funds they need to grow their enterprises. And once they have the money, the next step is to invest it wisely—think more ‘tomato farm’ and less ‘betting on Arsenal to win the league.’
Kadaga wasn’t the only one with something to say. Jinja Resident City Commissioner Richard Gulume echoed her sentiments, highlighting how empowering women through the GROW project could transform lives, boost economic development, and—perhaps most importantly—reduce the domestic violence that often rears its ugly head when poverty tightens its grip on a household.
“Empowered women are like the baobab tree,” Gulume said, “they provide shade, food, and strength to the entire community.” His message was clear: when women thrive, everyone thrives. It’s the kind of wisdom you’d expect from a man who knows that you can’t eat from a garden you didn’t water.
A Boost for Busoga’s Women Entrepreneurs
Jinja City Deputy Mayor Fazira Kawuma also expressed her gratitude for the GROW initiative, calling it a well of hope for women who have been excluded from many other programmes. She urged the government to ensure that even the women who have been left out in the past are included this time around.
Kawuma’s said “Women are like millet—they’re incredibly productive when given the right conditions to grow.” And with the GROW project, those conditions seem to be sprouting up all over Busoga.
The GROW project is not just about small loans and local businesses; it’s a massive initiative backed by $217 million from the World Bank. It targets 60,000 female owned enterprises and aims to reach 280,000 women entrepreneurs, including those in refugee hosting districts.
The project was officially launched by President Yoweri Museveni during a Women’s Day event in Kiruhura District earlier this year. Since then, GROW project focal persons have been appointed in every district to help spread the word.
The Grassroots Push
Women leaders from across Busoga, including Bugweri District’s Prossy Nambeko and Luuka District’s Fiida Namuwaya, praised the GROW project, calling it a much needed lifeline for women entrepreneurs. They requested more facilitation to ensure that they can reach every corner of their communities with the good news.
Nambeko summed it up best when she said, “This project is like rain in a dry season. It’s what we’ve been praying for.” But like any good farmer, she knows that when the rain comes, you have to be ready to plant—and that’s exactly what these women plan to do.
Kadaga’s message was as clear as the waters of Lake Victoria: the GROW funds are a chance for women to step up and step out of the financial shadows. But they must be smart, vigilant, and, above all, independent. After all, in the game of life, you don’t want to be the one left holding the empty bag when everyone else has already left the market.
So, ladies of Busoga, as you take on the challenge of entrepreneurship, remember: your money, your rules. And as they say in Busoga, “Bw’oba oyagala oluganda lwa nkoko, osaanye olifuge,”—if you want a happy home, you must manage it well.
