Government reaffirms commitment to women’s economic empowerment

7 August 2026, 7:02 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Government of Uganda has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women through increased investment in women-led SACCOs and entrepreneurship programmes aimed at reducing gender inequality, creating jobs and improving household incomes.

Ugandan women are taking center stage to showcase businesses they have built from scratch. This is part of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme, organized by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to support women and promote the growth of their enterprises.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Women Economic Empowerment for Green Transformation project under the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme, WEEG-UWEP, in Kampala, the State Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development in charge of Culture, Mary Kamuli Kuteesa, said women remain economically disadvantaged despite making up a significant proportion of the country’s population.

Kuteesa called on the government and development partners to prioritize increasing women’s access to capital, saying stronger financial support would enable women to expand their enterprises and build social and economic resilience.

She also called for cultural transformation, questioning why many women still do not own land despite their significant contribution to the country’s economy. She said unequal land ownership continues to hinder women’s development and reinforces cultural practices that limit their economic potential.

Beneficiaries of the nearly two-year programme shared testimonies of how the initiative had improved their livelihoods through business skills, financial support and access to green enterprise opportunities. They urged the government to sustain and expand similar initiatives so that more women across the country can benefit.

Meanwhile, landlords of Ovino have elected new leaders following the expiration of the interim committee that had been leading the landlords for the past three months.

Speaking to journalists after his election, the newly elected chairman, Francis Kawuma, thanked the landlords for entrusting him with the leadership position.

Kawuma pledged to remain focused on issues affecting landlords and work towards making Ovino clean, safe and accessible to everyone. He said he is confident that the new leadership team will achieve its goals during the two-year term.