The panel was led by Doreen Atuheire (2nd Right), Head- dfcu Women in Business at dfcu Bank, Charity Winnie Kamusiime Asiimwe (2nd Left), Head of Marketing, dfcu Bank and Prof. Twaha Kaawaase (Centre)
The dfcu Rising Woman Initiative season seven is almost coming to an end after months of impacting women entrepreneurs through business clinics held across the country.
The initiative provides business training and mentorship programs, designed to provide invaluable insights and guidance to women entrepreneurs. Participants are drawn from agribusiness value addition, manufacturing, customer services, digital innovation and e-commerce.
On Saturday, the bank and its partners—Nation Media Group (NMG) and Sejjaaka, Kaawaase & Co., Certified Public Accountants—held a pitch session in Kampala, to select the best innovative business ideas.
The day-long event attracted 18 women-led businesses out of hundreds that sent through their applications.
Speaking to Business Focus after the session, Charity Winnie Kamusiime Asiimwe, Head of Marketing, dfcu Bank, said, “Today, we are privileged to experience the talent of creation, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship at dfcu Rising Woman.”
For the last couple of months, she added that “we have been moving across the country training hundreds of women entrepreneurs.”
According to Asiimwe, dfcu bank through the Rising Woman Season 7, trained 1,200 women on entrepreneurship skills since March 2025.
“We have trained over 35,000 women in business since 2018,” she said. “This year we have added over 1,200, which is fantastic. Today, we are crowning this exercise by looking through 156 applicants that came through our women in business desk from all over the country. We look forward to giving you the results at the forthcoming ceremony on the 5th of December 2025.”
The ideas the panel listened to came from the agro-processing sector, trade and business, manufacturing, and innovation and technology, among others.
During the panel, Asiimwe said she noted areas that, according to her, need improvement.
“The ability to understand your market space and the solution you are providing, but importantly, the articulation of your business idea. It is important that as an innovator, you are able to articulate your idea very well. That means the problem statement, identifying the solution, and what the solution is going to look like step by step. Some had very big ideas, but the presentation was very shallow. It’s important to understand what your business requires. If it is finances, it is important that you articulate your case. A business is as good as the return on investment. The ROI is not just the profit but the impact on the community,” said Asiimwe.
She said the weaknesses identified can be addressed through the opportunities the bank offers in training, recognition, exposure, access to mentorship programs, and women in business support.
Prof. Twaha Kaawaase Kigongo of Sejjaaka, Kaawaase & Co., Certified Public Accountants, assured the public of the transparent process leading to the top three innovative women-led businesses. Winners will be announced on December 5, 2025.
“69 innovative business ideas were sent to us for evaluation. We zeroed in on 20 to pitch to get the top 3,” said Kaawaase.
“These are good ideas. We have social entrepreneurs. All their problems are capital. They are looking for as little as 10 million to turn things around,” Kaawaase added. “I can confirm that nothing has come to our attention to create doubt on the process. The process was properly followed, and the outcome is credible. I commend dfcu bank and NMG for being transparent,” he said.
The winners of the Business Proposal Competition will win UGX 30 million in prize money. The competition we will wind off with the Awards Gala scheduled for December5, 2025, where the bank will announce the winning proposals. After this, the top 10 winners will have an all-expenses-paid mentorship trip.
