Stanbic Cuts Lending Rates For Agriculture SACCOS To 10%

The Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU), the umbrella body for microfinance institutions, convened recently for its 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) as part of its continued commitment to share information and foster partnerships within the microfinance sector.

Dedicated to promoting professionalism and best practices across the sector, membership currently stands at 204 institutions and these include SACCOS, non-deposit-taking MFI’s, MDI’s, commercial banks in the microfinance space, and associate members such as development partners, wholesale lenders, consultants, and academic institutions with microfinance departments.

AMFIU was founded in November 1996, through the collaboration of several organisations with interest in microfinance. The main reasons for its establishment were the needs for MFIs to have a common voice; to lobby government for favorable policies; to share information and experiences; and to link up and network with both local and international actors.

Speaking about financial inclusion of women and smallholder farmers, Stephen Segujja Head, Economic Enterprise Restart Fund at Stanbic Bank said, “We believe that financial inclusion is not simply about opening accounts or providing loans, it’s about creating opportunities, it is about enabling a farmer to increase productivity, a woman entrepreneur to expand her business, a young person to pursue their ambitions and families to build resilience and prosperity. This is why our partnership with AMFIU remains so important. Together we share a common vision of building an inclusive financial system that leaves no Ugandan behind.”

Stanbic’s commitment to women and farmers is driven by its Women, Youth, and Farmers (WYF) agenda, anchored by a massive Ugx 1 trillion investment pledge. The bank provides targeted financial solutions, capacity building, and strategic partnerships to increase yields, boost incomes and formalize businesses across Uganda.

Segujja said, “At the start of 2021 as a bank we barely had any business to talk to regarding SACCOs and VSL’s, but with a lot of partnership from the members here we worked together and there’s been a very significant shift in the way we look at SACCOs and VSL’s. Also, in the way that we look at the Women, Farmers and Youth and that impact has been demonstrated not only in the bank right now, but in the whole association as bankers.”

“Since 2021 more than UGX362 billion has been extended through those SACCOs and VSLs reaching nearly 4 million Ugandans the majority of whom have been smallholder farmers and these are majorly community-based institutions of which 780,000 members have been able to access credits,” he said.

James Onyutta, the AMFIU Board President said, “The microfinance sector continues to play a pivotal role in advancing financial inclusion, supporting enterprise growth and improving livelihoods across Uganda.”

Over the years AMFIU’s collaboration has focused on strengthening SACCOs and VSLs which continue to play a critical role in expanding the financial services of the underserved communities. Through these institutions affordable finance is reaching people who would otherwise remain excluded from the financial sector. The impact has been very significant.

Onyutta said, “Despite the evolving economic environment, our member institutions continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and commitment to serving millions of Ugandans, particularly low income households, microenterprises, vulnerable groups that could have been excluded from the formal financial sector and rural communities.”