On Tuesday 6 March, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Uganda’s Centenary Rural Development Bank (‘CERUDEB’) announced a €100 million loan for private sector businesses in Uganda. The investment partnership was signed at the third Uganda-EU Business Forum, taking place in Kampala from Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 March.
According to the EIB, this loan marks a milestone, representing the largest microfinance investment ever made by the EU Bank to a country in the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) group.
Beneficiaries will be micro-entrepreneurs or micro-businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees. The aim is to facilitate access to credit for entrepreneurs in rural areas, who are often under-financed.
The CERUDEB also provides that at least 50% of the funding will be allocated to support businesses run or owned by women, in line with the criteria of the ‘2X Challenge’ and ‘SheInvest’ initiatives launched by the EIB in 2019 to promote the economic empowerment of women.
“This investment partnership, with its focus on women-owned and women-led businesses, is an excellent example of how Uganda can benefit from Global Gateway”, said Edward Claessen, EIB Regional Director for East Africa, in a statement. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)