The French government is providing UGX 2.64 billion (660,000 Euros) towards a refugee credit financing project in Uganda.
Through the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Proparco – the private sector arm of the French Development Agency (AFD) group – the technical assistance will support the second phase of a project implemented by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation together with UGAFODE microfinance and VisionFund Uganda.
The “Expanding Financial Inclusion for Refugees and Host Communities in Uganda” project aims to further expand access to financial services for refugees and host communities through the development of digital tools and training programs. The planned activities include: Capacity building for microfinance institutions’ staff to better understand and serve refugee clients; training workshops for clients on the use of financial services, digital tools, and business management; and support for digitalisation efforts to improve service delivery and control operating costs.
Other activities will support improving products offered, particularly to enhance the inclusion of women. Uganda currently hosts 1.93 million refugees, making it the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, with almost 600 new refugee arrivals recorded every day since the beginning of the year.
Over half of these refugees are under the age of 18, coming mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to the French embassy in Uganda, the first phase of this project, launched in 2019, has already enabled nearly 100,000 refugees and residents to access tailored financial services, notably through the opening of branches in several refugee camps such as Nakivale, Kyangwali, Moyo, and Yumbe.
“This new phase aims to strengthen the two MFIs’ capacity to develop innovative and inclusive products (particularly targeting women), to train both staff and clients, and to support the digitalization of services,” the embassy says.
”Supporting financial inclusion for refugees and host communities in Uganda is both a social necessity and an economic opportunity. With this project, nearly 25,000 clients will gain access to tailored financial services by 2027, showing that inclusive finance in fragile contexts can be viable and transformative. We are proud to work alongside the partners to turn this ambition into reality,” said Jean Guyonnet-Dupérat, Regional Director at Proparco.
This support from Proparco is part of France’s broader effort to promote financial inclusion for refugees, especially women and the youth, in Uganda.Since 2022, AFD has been working on this through the ReFine project, implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with Kiva and Cohere Ugafode as well as VisionFund and FINCA, to address structural barriers hindering refugees’ access to financial services.
“Financial inclusion is one of our key priorities as it aligns with our vision of impacting children. Therefore, as we serve the refugee and host community through innovative and inclusive products, we will certainly continue to broaden our impact in these communities,” said Mercy Sande, CEO at VisionFund Uganda.
“Through this collaboration, we continue to empower smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups to build resilience and sustainable livelihoods by providing access to savings, loans, money transfer services, and financial literacy, drawing on both our successes and lessons learned along the way,” said Shafi Nambobi, CEO of UGAFODE. Grameen Credit Agricole, a partner of the French Development Financial Institution (DFI) Proparco, pledged to continue working on building inclusive, sustainable market systems for refugees and host communities in Uganda.
“The new project aims to build on the successes and lessons from the field to support more access and usage of financial products by refugees and host communities. It also aims to strengthen the financial and digital capacities of the end clients so they can move into more complex financial products as their businesses continue to grow,” said Hanadi Tutunji, Head of Technical Assistance at Grameen Credit Agricole