Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija (3rd left), Minister of State for Kampala, Kabuye Kyofatogabye (3rd right) and Goldmine Finance Managing Director, Allan Tayebwa (2nd left) and other Goldmine Finance officials pose for a photo after the launch of the company’s third branch on Wednesday in Kabalagala.
Goldmine Finance Limited has opened its third branch in Kabalagala, Makindye Division, in Kampala, with a promise to bring financial services closer to Ugandans by opening more branches.
Around the same time last year, the Tier 4 microfinance institution opened its second branch in Ntinda, a suburb of Kampala. This was an expansion from its founding branch at Akamwesi in Nakawa.
Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija, who presided over the launch of the new branch on Wednesday afternoon, asked the management of Goldmine Finance Limited to run the company professionally and expand into upcountry areas.
“Be honest with your customers. If your customers are in trouble, go and check on them. Have an officer who goes and sees your customer,” Kasaija told the management and staff of Goldmine Finance Limited, emphasizing honesty and integrity.
Kasaija castigated dishonest financial institutions, noting that, “you borrow (from them), and they are not bothered. They just sit and wait for their money or collateral.”
He also appealed to Goldmine Finance not to be “Kampala people” and expand to rural areas in a bid to tap the potential in such areas. “Expand. Study your businesses well,” he said.
Kasaija told the audience that the economy is doing well despite “a few glitches.”
“The economy retracted because of COVID, otherwise, we would be growing at 8%. Now, we are growing at about 6%, aiming for 7%,” he said.
He added that he wants tax revenue, but the taxes must be legitimate.
“I have many burdens. I don’t want to borrow too much. I don’t want to mortgage Uganda,” Kasaija said, commending the financial institution for employing the young people.
“We are offloading 700,000 graduates every year. Yet we are creating employment for only 400, 000. How about the 300,000? I congratulate you,” he added. He appealed to the youth “not to play with a job” but to be faithful, earn, save, and invest.
According to Ezra Balihamwe, a compliance officer at Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA), Goldmine Finance has over the years had only one complaint filed against it by a client.
He said for some similar organizations, over three complaints are filed every day against them.
He commended the organization for handling customer complaints before they get to the authority.
Balihamwe noted that what Goldmine Finance is doing aligns well with the government’s agenda of ensuring financial inclusion and creating jobs for young people.
Alfred Brian Agaba, the Goldmine Finance Limited Board Chairman, attributed the financial institution’s growth to the Managing Director’s love for governance and accountability. Goldmine Finance started in 2011 as a non-deposit-taking lending institution. In 2015, it was accredited as a Tier 4 microfinance institution. Agaba commended his MD’s belief in governance and accountability to the Board.
“If you have good governance, you will grow. His accountability to the board accounts for the growth you are seeing today,” said Agaba.
The finance institution’s MD, Allan Tayebwa, revealed that in the next five years, Goldmine Finance Limited intends to have 10 branches and 100,000 customers. Goldmine Finance currently handles about 1,500 clients.
In Kabalagala, Tayebwa said the intention is to bring closer accessibility to “meet the ever-evolving financial needs of the customers.”
“We look forward to the future because of the belief and the support you have in us,” said Tayebwa.
