By Brian Mugenyi KAMPALA. On the face of it, Dr Ruth Biyinzika Kasolo is living a dream that many African women would love to celebrate. See her at work and it is difficult to miss the intensity with which she approaches women’s economic empowerment. She appears to enjoy every note, chord and nuance of a […] The post Dr Ruth Biyinzika: How Uganda’s women are turning small businesses into engines of growth appeared first on Watchdog Uganda .
By Brian Mugenyi
KAMPALA. On the face of it, Dr Ruth Biyinzika Kasolo is living a dream that many African women would love to celebrate.
See her at work and it is difficult to miss the intensity with which she approaches women’s economic empowerment. She appears to enjoy every note, chord and nuance of a development agenda that seeks to move women from economic vulnerability to enterprise, productivity and independence.
For Dr Biyinzika, however, the work is not about celebrating women merely because they have entered business. It is about asking a harder question: what happens when a woman who has been running a survival enterprise is finally given the tools to grow?
That question sits at the heart of Uganda’s Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project, where Dr Biyinzika serves as project coordinator.
“We want women to think beyond survival businesses and identify enterprises that can grow into sustainable sources of income,” she says.
It is a statement that captures the difference between economic activity and economic transformation. A woman selling tomatoes by the roadside is economically active. A woman who can expand that business, keep proper records, access suitable finance, employ another person, reach bigger markets and generate sustained income is building an enterprise.
GROW was conceived as a national response to the barriers preventing Ugandan women-owned businesses from moving beyond micro-enterprises. The World Bank approved the $217 million project in 2022, and project implementation officially commenced on January 20, 2023. Implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development alongside the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), the initiative is designed to tackle multiple constraints simultaneously—combining credit with enterprise development services, technical skills, market linkages and productive infrastructure.
Parliament reported in March 2025 that six participating commercial banks had been allocated Shs50.1 billion for the project’s first year. Yet, Dr Biyinzika has consistently cautioned against treating money as the ultimate solution. Capital without capability, she emphasizes, rarely yields sustainable growth.
Her strategy demands that financial institutions view women as a diverse market rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model. Speaking at the close of the Women’s Market event in Kampala on August 29, 2026, Dr Biyinzika challenged banks to use data to design financial products tailored to the distinct stages of women’s businesses.
“Bank of Uganda is telling a data-centric journey, and by March next year we shall be registered in many of these processes—we want to talk in figures,” she noted.
At the Kampala event, Dr Biyinzika recognized 55 key stakeholders across financial institutions, government ministries, and international partners. She particularly commended Serena Cavicchi, the World Bank’s Senior Social Development Specialist and Task Team Lead for GROW, for providing steadfast support.
Ministry statistics indicate that by 2024, over 24,753 women entrepreneurs had been reached through community mobilization, mindset training, and financial services. However, the ultimate test remains whether this package reaches rural entrepreneurs operating far from commercial hubs, providing them with the tools needed to scale.
Dr Biyinzika’s vision extends beyond business management to national development. At the National Curriculum Development Forum, she urged educators to train citizens capable of creating employment rather than waiting for it, linking skills and patriotism directly to national productivity.
Ultimately, GROW’s success will not be measured by disbursed loans, but by transformed enterprises. When a woman transitions from a roadside stall to a structured company that employs others, empowerment ceases to be just a project—it becomes a lasting economic story.
The post Dr Ruth Biyinzika: How Uganda’s women are turning small businesses into engines of growth appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.
