New, Positive Turn: Hope As Centenary Bank Champions Women’s Economic Empowerment at the 2025 Women’s Enterprise Conference

Kampala, 31^st October 2025 – Centenary Bank, the largest commercial microfinance bank in Uganda, joined women entrepreneurs, policymakers, and development partners at the annual Women Enterprise Conference with a shared goal of bridging the financial and economic gaps faced by women entrepreneurs.

Held under the theme “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Business Growth.” The conference showcased the critical role women play in driving Uganda’s economy and the systemic challenges they must overcome.

A recent 2024 State of Entrepreneurship study by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives underlined persistent challenges for women entrepreneurs. The report revealed that women-led MSMEs score slightly below the national average on the Entrepreneurship Index, with measurable gaps in business registration, technology adoption, and market linkages.

It further highlighted barriers like limited access to land, credit, and restrictive societal norms. Fabian Kasi, the Managing Director of Centenary Bank, in his address, emphasised the critical need for forums like this conference to address and bridge these gaps.

“For over four decades, Centenary Bank has been at the forefront of advancing financial inclusion. Our mission is to transform lives, and a major part of that is ensuring women have the resources to build their legacies. Today, we serve 3 million customers, many of whom are women, thus this conference speaks to our efforts as a bank to always listen, understand, and respond to our customers’ needs.” Kasi stated. He urged attendees to leverage the financial tools, training, and networks available to them.

The Bank has made significant investments in products and partnerships designed to enhance access to finance, promote financial literacy, and strengthen business resilience among women entrepreneurs. These include the CenteSupaWoman Account, designed to help women manage and grow their finances with benefits like an attractive 2% monthly interest rate, business linkage support, a dedicated relationship officer, and financial literacy training.

This is complemented by the SupaWoman GROW Loans, which provide flexible, affordable financing at subsidised rates with adaptable security requirements. The bank’s support is further strengthened by specialized Agriculture Loans aimed at supporting women in agribusiness to increase their productivity and profitability across various value chains.

Through strategic partnerships such as the Enterprise Finance Summit with the Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF), Centenary Bank continues to expand access to financing for SMEs, including women-led businesses, enabling them to scale operations and enter new markets.

Beyond financing, the bank also runs extensive training programs to strengthen women’s business and financial management skills, covering budgeting, record keeping, digital finance, and investment planning. Furthermore, Centenary Bank operates over 8,000 CenteAgents across the country, making banking accessible even in remote communities.

“We believe that empowering women goes beyond finance. It’s about equipping them with knowledge, linking them to markets, and helping them build confidence to grow sustainably,” Kasi emphasised, concluding, “When women succeed, communities thrive. Centenary Bank is proud to be part of that transformation.”

On sustainability, the Bank continues to champion sustainable financing, with products such as the Green loans, WASH, investing in initiatives such as tree planting, among others. Centenary Bank remains dedicated to building a financially inclusive Uganda where women are not just participants in the economy, but are leading it.