A female entrepreneur showcasing her products at the 2025 dfcu Rising Woman Expo held last weekend at UMA Show Grounds
dfcu Bank through its Rising Woman Initiative is increasingly grooming female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses sustainably.
During the 2025 Rising Woman Expo held at the UMA Show Grounds in Lugogo last weekend, hundreds of women entrepreneurs from across Uganda showcased their products and shared their success stories.
In an interview with Business Focus at the sidelines of the expo, Doreen Atuheire, Head- dfcu Women in Business, dfcu Bank, highlighted the transformative power of investing in women-led enterprises.
“dfcu Rising Woman is a commitment to unlocking the potential of Uganda’s women entrepreneurs. When women gain access to the right financial tools, skills, and networks, they don’t just grow their businesses; they uplift entire communities. That is why dfcu Bank continues to champion platforms that give women visibility, opportunity, and the confidence to thrive,” Atuheire said.
“Through the regional business clinics, female entrepreneurs are able to get more knowledge and skills, put up structures within their businesses. This year alone, we have trained over 700 women entrepreneurs across Uganda,” she added.
Her remarks reflect the growing impact of dfcu Bank’s Women in Business (WiB) Programme, which has empowered over 80,000 women entrepreneurs through training, advisory support, and tailored financial solutions. Through affordable financing, dfcu is enabling women to scale their enterprises with stability and aspiration.
“dfcu Rising Woman Initiative has created a community where women learn, collaborate, network and are able to grow their businesses through the advisory support they keep accessing through our women in business advisory centre at dfcu banks,” Atuheire said.
Success stories
Business Focus spoke to a number of women entrepreneurs at the expo, who praised dfcu for opening up opportunities for them and transforming their businesses.
Betty Ndagiire Wambi of Muyettis Company Limited, a company that deals in avocado seeds powder, porridge flour, g-nuts paste, liquid soap, pawpaw, eucalyptus and avocado oils, and value-added handkerchiefs, said the visibility they get through dfcu Rising Woman including the expo is impactful.
“Before dfcu bank gave me a training opportunity, I couldn’t even account for the finances earned or spent, Today, I keep records,” Ndagire said, adding: “I have met like-minded businesswomen. They have challenged me to be better. The exposure has been big.”
Grace Akatuha of Kikazi Millet Flour owes her success story partly to dfcu Rising Woman Initiative.
“I was totally green. My business had no structure. The business wasn’t registered. I had no records. No physical address, I was alone,” Akatuha said.
Because of dfcu support, today, Akatuha supplies over 200 supermarkets across the country, and employs five permanent staff and six casual workers.
She also has a physical address and keeps proper records, with an accountancy firm in charge of her book keeping and systems.
She also credits platforms like the Rising Woman Expo for exposures and networking. Akatuha is looking to export her products. Currently, with the support from dfcu bank and partners, she is working on ISO certification. This will allow her to export her products to markets outside Uganda. Her inspiration to export comes from the fact that her products are already on the shelves in the United Kingdom.
Although she sells a kilogram of her millet flour product to a middleman at UGX12, 000, the person sells the same in UK at 11 pounds. Akatuha’s products have also grown from just millet flour to now cassava flour, products that are already UNBS-certified with the Q (quality) mark.
Carol Mumba, the Chief Executive Officer at Akari Natural Spices, a company that deals in herbs and spices, also revealed how the dfcu Rising Woman Initiative has a transformative impact on her business.
“Before joining the dfcu Rising Woman trainings, we used not to keep proper records. During one of the trainings, they taught us how to keep books of accounts. We were also taught to formalize our businesses. Before the training, we weren’t registered, we are now a company registered with URSB,” Mumba said.
“We are now working on getting UNBS Q-mark certification, we have so far certified one product out of 50 products,” she added.
Mumba added that the dfcu Rising Woman expo has enabled her not only to make sales, but also sell her brand.
“We get new customers at the expo that even follow us to our shop in Ntinda. We really make some money out of these exhibitions. Unlike other exhibitions, dfcu doesn’t make us pay to showcase our products,” Mumba said.
She said she wants to turn Akari into a manufacturing company “because at the moment we have a small factory.”
Erusa Namutebi of Finest International, who has just joined the dfcu Rising Woman Initiative, already has a success story to share. Namutebi deals in body and hair cosmetics made from natural remedies.
“I like this exposure and networks. I hope to benefit more. I want to employ people in the future, and go into commercial farming to be able to grow my natural raw materials because I buy them expensively.” She hopes to achieve her dreams with the support from dfcu bank.
Speaking on the outlook of women entrepreneurs in Uganda, dfcu’s Atuheire said: “Uganda has one of the highest women entrepreneurship rates globally, with about 38% of businesses in Uganda being women-led. With initiatives like the dfcu Rising Woman, women entrepreneurs are able to be upskilled and run their businesses better and sustainably. We also help them become bankable businesses which lays a foundation for growth, expansion and sustainability.”
