Christine Muheirwe turns Shs55m GROW loan into Nakivale restaurant employing 12

ISINGIRO — Christine Muheirwe has turned a Shs55 million GROW loan into a restaurant in Bukanga, Nakivale, that now employs 12 people and gives workers an income from the business.

Muheirwe says she received the loan through Opportunity Bank after learning about the financing from the bank. Speaking in an interview on 23 September 2026, she thanked the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project, and in particular Dr. Ruth Biyinzika Kasolo, the project coordinator at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU).

“I want to thank the directors of the GROW Project for women, led by Dr. Ruth Biyinzika. The project has changed my life. I got Shs55 million as a loan, which helped me start my restaurant,” she said.

The restaurant, she says, employs five men and seven women, paid from its proceeds. “I pay them and make a profit out of the GROW business,” Muheirwe said. She added that she has not faced community-related challenges since opening in Nakivale.

A company profile linked to the enterprise identifies BAMA General Supplies Ltd, of Bukanga, Nakivale, Isingiro District, with activities listed as catering, car hire and general supplies. The profile gives the postal address as P.O. Box 266, Mbarara, telephone contacts 0787 199020 and 0775 361668, and the email [email protected]. The profile does not, by itself, establish Muheirwe’s ownership of the company.

GROW is implemented by PSFU with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, and is financed by the World Bank. It is meant to widen women entrepreneurs’ access to services and finance so they can grow their businesses. The GROW loan targets micro and small enterprises in which women own at least 51 per cent of the shareholding, across sectors that include agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, construction, science and technology, services, creative arts and ICT.

Dr. Kasolo has said the programme is not only about putting money in women’s hands. “GROW is not simply about putting money into the hands of women; it is about giving women-owned enterprises the capital, knowledge and opportunity to move from survival to sustainable growth. When a woman’s business grows, she does not grow alone — she creates income, supports families, generates employment and strengthens the economy around her,” she said.

As at 30 June 2026, the GROW Financing Facility had recorded 10,096 loans, with cumulative disbursements of Shs161 billion through 14 participating financial institutions.

For Muheirwe, the test of the money is what it has become: a catering business in Nakivale that serves customers and pays 12 workers, seven of them women.

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