The State Minister for Transport, Hon. Joy Kabatsi on Wednesday evening launched a financial literacy project that is based in Lwemiyaga, Sembabule District.
The project, CHOMI Foundation, was officially launched by Kabatsi at a ceremony held at the Kampala Serena Hotel in an evening that included dinner and cocktails as the Foundation unveiled plans for the next 5 years.
Top businessmen and women, diplomats, ministers dominated the crowd on Wednesday evening.
The CHOMI Foundation is a Non-Government Organization that will empower the population of rural Uganda who have the potential to increase their productivity but are often restricted due to financial illiteracy, both in personal and business finance management.
This is in addition to a communication gap on how to access financial assistance from the Government of Uganda and other institutions and organizations.
Speaking at the launch, Joy Kabatsi said, “The need for financial literacy became clear after several town hall meetings with farmers in Sembabule District, where access to financial support emerged as the single most critical request.”
Guests present at the function raised a whopping shs200m towards the establishment of the foundation.
CHOMI Foundation seeks to train farmers and other enterprising Ugandans on how best they can prepare for, access and properly use funding, whether from Government, or any other organizations.
Many international organizations have created grants and small strategic loans to boost the Agricultural sector in Africa, and especially Uganda, which was once considered the breadbasket of Africa.
Unfortunately, most of the people directly involved in agriculture rarely have any records, data, or even farm structure that would enable the investors to invest in the farms.
The trainings that CHOMI foundation will provide will include; financial literacy, basic computer knowledge, record keeping, measuring progress, plough back of profits, modern farming methods, savings & investment, farm expansion and transition from subsistence to commercial farming among other key disciplines that will position the participants to benefit from funding initiatives from government and other institutions and organizations.
CHOMI Foundation is set to construct a state-of-the-art community centre in Sembabule that will have offices, halls for training, a computer room, and stores for produce that residents can utilize as the centre links them to markets.
This centre will be the heart of rural operations in Central and Western Uganda. It is from this centre that ambassadors will be recruited, trained and deployed to other parts of the country to spread the message of literacy as a tool for financial empowerment.
