More than 24,000 micro-enterprises in Uganda received financing in the first year of a partnership between the European Investment Bank Group’s development arm, EIB Global, and Centenary Bank.
The agreement, signed in 2024, is intended to make €100 million (about 428 billion Ugandan shillings) available to private-sector enterprises in Uganda over seven years, with a focus on women-led businesses and micro-enterprises in rural areas, the EIB said in a statement on Tuesday.
The arrangement includes a €50 million credit line from EIB Global to Centenary Bank, with the Ugandan lender matching the amount.
Women made up more than 60% of beneficiaries, above the 50% target set for the programme, according to the first annual disbursement report.
Some 75% of financed projects were in rural areas, exceeding a 60% goal.
Trade accounted for 50% of financing and agriculture for nearly 40%.
EIB vice-president Marko Primorac said access to finance remained a challenge “especially for women and rural communities.”
Rural lending and support for women entrepreneurs
The Centenary Bank credit line is EIB Global’s largest microfinance loan in any country in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions, the EIB said.
It added that the intended end borrowers are micro-enterprises — businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees.
The operation includes EIB Global’s Africa Women Rising Initiative, which it said is designed to expand services for female clients. Centenary Bank has increased the number of female clients by 21% and its non-performing loans for women have fallen by more than 8%.
Centenary Bank managing director and chief executive Godfrey Byekwaso said the partnership had helped address local funding gaps for small businesses.
The programme also included loans to refugees living in Uganda, with 200 loans in 2025 provided to refugees from countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
One borrower, Gissele Muganza, received a loan of 2 million Ugandan shillings for her children’s clothing business and studies, and her monthly net profit later rose to 1.1 million shillings.
EIB Global has provided more than €388 million since 1981 to support private-sector businesses in Uganda, mainly targeting agriculture and gender equality.
