KAMPALA – The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in collaboration with different Civil Society Organisations in Africa advocates for inclusive financing as a critical tool for empowering women and achieving gender equality.
The call was made during a Wednesday stakeholders’ dialogue on advocation for inclusive financing for women’s leadership and economic empowerment held in Kampala themed “Invest in Her: Accelerate Progress.”
The dialogue that brought together various stakeholders including Members of Parliament (MPs), Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Academia, and Development Partners was intended to;
- Raising awareness about the importance of inclusive financing for women’s leadership and economic empowerment,
- Identifying and analyzing the existing barriers that hinder women’s access to inclusive financing and leadership opportunities,
- Establishing workable solutions that address the existing barriers that hinder women’s access to inclusive financing and leadership opportunities, and
- Fostering collaboration among government representatives, Development Organisations, and other key stakeholders to collectively work towards achieving inclusive financing initiatives.
Damaline Amaguru – Country Project Coordinator, Aga Khan Foundation revealed that they are implementing a 30-month Advancing Gender Equality through Civil Society (AGECS) in partnership with civil societies in 5 countries in Africa including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar).
In Uganda, AKF in partnership with Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) implements the “Women’s Amplified Voice and Empowerment” (WAVE) in Luwero and Mityana districts. In Mukono and Kampala districts, it is implementing the “Let Her Shine” project with Public Health Ambassadors Uganda (PHAU) and “Skill Up Women and Girls for Economic Empowerment and Social Transformation” (SWEET Project) in Arua city and Arua district in partnership with Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD).
In addition, AKF supports the advocacy work of the AGECS partners spearheaded by the African Women’s Development Network (FEMNET) which is implementing the “Gender Equality Advocacy in Practice” (GEAP).
Amaguru says AGECS is a Sub-Project of the Foundations for Education and Empowerment (F4EE) program which is active in Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda – seeking to improve education systems at the pre-primary and primary level, strengthening women empowerment, gender equality and health outcomes.
“AGECS implements innovative gender-targeted and transformative initiatives to address barriers to gender equality in terms of community participation, decision-making opportunities, and access to resources and services for Women, girls, boys, and men in the specific project geographies,” she noted.
According to her, the Civil Society ecosystem in Uganda plays a crucial role in overcoming social barriers for marginalised groups, particularly women and girls.
“A 2020 rapid gender analysis by AKF unveiled limited decision-making participation for women, exacerbated by COVID-19’s impact on income generation. As such AGECS was initiated to engage a network of partners to implement projects addressing gender equality, and social and economic barriers especially faced by Adolescent Girls and Young Women.”
Amaguru says the sub-projects have a central goal which is to empower women economically, socially, and politically to achieve gender equality and drive socioeconomic transformation but also inclusive financing which is essential for creating an equitable society.
She commended the Ugandan government for undertaking various programs to empower women economically, including; the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program (UWEP), Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP), Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE), The Presidential Initiative on Wealth and Job Creation (Emyooga) and the Parish Development Model (PDM).
However, she said despite these great initiatives, women still face significant challenges in accessing financial resources and services, participating in leadership, and contributing to economic development which exposes them to vulnerabilities.
She urged the government and stakeholders to add on existing empowerment initiatives to enhance women’s empowerment – noting that empowered women possess a vital voice, power, and agency, which are crucial elements for breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and marginalization.
Ms. Muthoki Nzioka – Girls and Young Women Policy and Program Assistant at FEMNET called for a shift from the micro level of financing women to the macro level, but also the change of government policies to start including women.
“I read in the newspaper recently that they are going to increase taxes for the Saccos in Uganda, I thought about the already unbanked women we have in the country, does taxing the Saccos encourage women to join? She wondered, explaining that, “Women not joining the Saccos which is already a little more relaxed than the main banking system means that they are locked out of loan facilities that could help them.”
Ms. Muthoki said there is a need for friendly policies for women because “women are the main backbone of our families. We need to put women in decision-making positions to be able to complete the cycle of influencing policies.”
In his speech, Dominic Mafabi Gidudu, the State Minister for the Elderly at the Ministry of Gender, admitted the need for workable solutions that address the existing barriers hindering women’s access to inclusive financing and leadership opportunities.
He urged the stakeholders to foster collaboration among government representatives, and development organizations to collectively work towards achieving inclusive financing initiatives.
“I extend our appreciation to the President for providing a platform for women leaders through promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in mobilizing women in Uganda to support and benefit from government programs geared towards empowerment.”
“It’s important, therefore, to keep women leaders updated on the different programs to play their roles,” he said.
He noted that the interventions under the women’s structure are well aligned with the ministry’s strategic plan – noting that women leaders have a responsibility to ensure that they work towards casting the principles from the centre to the grassroots level.
“You must work towards mentoring and empowering the girl child to take up leadership roles. It’s your role to work towards contributing to the realization of SDG 5 on promoting gender equality as well as other related goals; reduced poverty, zero hunger, good health, and quality education.”
Gidudu added, “This should be done by embracing the government economic programs. Additionally, strengthening the women’s structure across the country at Local Government will play a key role in reinforcing programs like the GROW Project under the World Bank that receives the IDA grant amounting to $217 million to finance the generating gross opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises starting in the financial year 2022/23.”
