Equity Bank, Ministry of Agriculture launch National Oil Palm Project in Uganda

Equity Bank Limited and the Ministry of Agriculture have launched Uganda’s National Oil Palm Project in Mayuge District to empower farmers, create jobs, and drive Busoga’s economic transformation. Over 896 farmers have already benefited through training, seedlings, and Shs1.2 billion in funding. Read the Full Story here https://lnkd.in/dgdzMj_i

Still in the spirit of #WorldFoodDay themed, “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and Future”, we’re reflecting on how collaboration is helping farmers in Nigeria thrive. 🌱 For many farmers, access to finance can be the difference between potential and progress. Through HortiNigeria Program, farmers, cooperatives, and agribusinesses have found new ways to connect, access funding, and grow stronger together. By building on each other’s strengths, small steps are turning into real impact across Nigeria’s horticulture value chain. How do you think partnerships can help farmers reach their full potential? #NLinNigeria

During the launch, our Managing Director, Julius Kakeeto, emphasized the significance of this milestone, stating that “This EUR 16 million (UGX 64 billion) facility, backed by technical assistance, will enable us to extend sustainable agricultural financing to rural communities, women-led farming groups, and informal farmer cooperatives.” He further noted: “Agriculture remains the backbone of Uganda’s economy, employing up to 70% of our people. This partnership reaffirms our commitment to fostering prosperity and creating an enabling environment for Ugandans to thrive within the agriculture value chain.” Marc Trouyet Virginie LEROY Agence Française de Développement in Eastern Africa Loubna BOURAS #PBUganda #GrowProsper

The success of the Kisoro District Potato Growers Cooperative Union (KDPGCU) in Uganda offers a perfect blueprint for every country facing climate vulnerability. They are championing a model where resilience is structurally embedded: ✔️Local Leadership ✔️Climate-Smart Investment ✔️Direct Capital Flow This is the systems transformation we must fund. Traditional agricultural finance often fails because it assesses individual risk in a vacuum. The CRAFT project's success demonstrates that when you finance a cooperative designated as a 'business champion', you are investing in a de-risked and scaled operation. You are investing in market access, collective management, and verifiable climate action (220,000 farmers reporting greater resilience). For African banks and private equity firms, the message is quite compelling: The path to bankability for smallholder agriculture is paved by collective, climate-smart action. We need to collaborate with regional initiatives to design financial instruments that make these climate-resilient value chains the default investment choice, not the exception. https://lnkd.in/dm9ymCmu #agrifinancing #agrifinance #agriculture #climateresilience

The BATN Foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering smallholder farmers and strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural ecosystem through the successful hosting of its 2025 Agribusiness Dialogue Session. The Dialogue Session, held biennially since 2015, has become one of Nigeria’s most influential platforms for shaping policy, sparking innovation, and mobilising stakeholders in the agrifood system. This year’s edition, held on Thursday at Radisson Blu Hotel, Lagos, focused on the urgent theme: “Is the Smallholder Farmer Really Finance-able?” One of the key myths tackled head-on during the session was the widespread belief that smallholder farming is not profitable enough to justify investment. Speakers and panelists dismissed this narrative, pointing instead to the untapped potential of smallholder farmers as engines of food security, job creation, and national economic growth. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gDFYUARj #agronigeria #nigeria #farmers #agribusiness

The Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) has begun an Agricultural Support Programme Workshop in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to strengthen food security and empower people in rural communities across Southern Nigeria. The workshop aims to equip farmers, women, youths, students, and small-scale agribusiness owners with essential skills in modern and sustainable farming practices, helping them increase productivity and income generation. Declaring the event open on behalf of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of the Rivers State Governor, Mrs. Valerie Fubara, commended the initiative for prioritizing agricultural capacity building. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g3NW64ZM #agronigeria #agriculture #Rivers

#National Spotlight on Agribusiness in West Nile!  We are proud to share this powerful feature by #UBC TV News, highlighting the critical work of Uganda Agribusiness Alliance (UAA) under the #PowerOfVoicesPartnerships (PVP) project. For the last five years, we've worked alongside 1,388 farmers (665 women & 723 men) in West Nile, building their capacity in horticulture production. The result? Increased yields and stronger agribusiness skills. However, as this feature makes it clear, farmers' success is bottlenecked by infrastructure. Nebbi District Agricultural Officer, Joyce Piwa states: "The road network is very poor... yet when you grow these perishable things, you are supposed to sell them out." UAA has successfully linked farmers to markets, but without good roads, post-harvest losses remain high. We echo the call from local leaders like Gilbert Onencean (Principle Assistant CAO, Nebbi District) for the government to prioritize the improvement of community feeder roads. This is essential for a sustainable agribusiness value chain. #Watch the feature to hear directly from the farmers and leaders. #Share this post to amplify their voices. 🤝 #Partner with us. How can we work together to address this critical infrastructure gap? MAAIF Uganda Oxfam Novib Oxfam in Uganda Mariam Akiror NABIRYE PENINAH Nakanwagi Josephine Daisy SEATINI UGANDA CSBAG Uganda #Agribusiness #FoodSecurity #Advocacy #WestNile #Uganda #Infrastructure #MarketAccess #PVP #UAA #CommunicationForDevelopment

PostBank Uganda Ltd has secured UGX 60 Billion from the French Development Bank in a bid to boost sustainable agriculture financing in Uganda.  The funding is designed to enable agricultural micro, small, and medium size enterprises (MSMEs), smallholder farmers, and SACCOs, with a specific focus on women- and youth-owned businesses, participate in the agricultural value chain. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/dysqWhfc

This development is not only a financial milestone but also a deeply strategic investment in Uganda’s agricultural future. The UGX 60 billion facility secured by PostBank Uganda Ltd from the French Development Bank underscores the critical intersection of finance, sustainability, and inclusive growth. Agriculture remains the backbone of Uganda’s economy, engaging over 70% of the population and contributing significantly to GDP. Yet, for decades, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), smallholder farmers, SACCOs, women, and youth have faced systemic barriers to accessing affordable credit and participating meaningfully in value chains. This funding initiative, therefore, does more than inject capital—it addresses structural inequities by enabling vulnerable but vital actors to thrive. The deliberate focus on women and youth is especially commendable. Women constitute the majority of Uganda’s agricultural workforce, yet remain disproportionately excluded from financing and decision-making. Similarly, youth embody both the demographic dividend and the future custodians of innovation in agribusiness. Empowering these groups has a multiplier effect: advancing food security, generating employment, and fostering resilience against climate shocks. Equally important is the emphasis on sustainability. With climate variability threatening crop yields, land use, and rural livelihoods, aligning financing with green, climate-smart practices is not a luxury but a necessity. If well-channeled, this facility could catalyze transitions toward regenerative farming, renewable energy adoption in agro-processing, and digital innovations that modernize agricultural value chains. However, success will hinge on more than funding availability. Effective implementation requires transparent governance, robust monitoring frameworks, capacity-building for MSMEs, and a deliberate strategy to ensure long-term impact beyond repayment cycles. Public-private partnerships, knowledge transfer, and integration with Uganda’s broader agricultural transformation agenda will also be decisive. This initiative thus represents both a promise and a responsibility: a promise to unlock the potential of smallholders and agri-entrepreneurs, and a responsibility to ensure that this capital builds inclusive, sustainable systems rather than reinforcing existing inequalities. If executed with rigor, it could become a model for climate-aligned, inclusive agricultural financing across Africa. #SustainableAgriculture #InclusiveFinance #YouthEmpowerment #WomenInAgriculture #AgriFinance #ClimateResilience #PostBank #DevelopmentFinance #Uganda

This is a truly significant development for Uganda’s agricultural transformation. The UGX 60 Billion financing facility from the French Development Bank (AFD), channeled through PostBank Uganda, marks more than just an injection of capital — it symbolizes a strategic investment in resilience, inclusivity, and sustainability at the heart of our economy. Agriculture remains the backbone of Uganda, contributing roughly 24% of GDP and employing over 70% of the population, yet smallholder farmers and agri-MSMEs continue to face chronic barriers to credit, markets, and modern technologies (World Bank, 2023). By directing resources specifically toward smallholders, SACCOs, and women- and youth-led enterprises, this facility has the potential to address structural inequalities in access to finance while unlocking productivity gains across the value chain. Particularly noteworthy is the focus on sustainable agriculture financing. In a context where climate change is intensifying droughts, floods, and post-harvest losses, aligning credit with green, climate-smart, and resource-efficient practices is not only prudent but essential. Done well, this move could help catalyze a shift from subsistence to resilient, market-oriented agribusiness that strengthens both food security and export competitiveness. The challenge, of course, lies in effective implementation: ensuring that funds reach intended beneficiaries, building financial literacy and capacity among farmer groups, and embedding strong monitoring mechanisms to measure impact. Equally important will be forging linkages with digital finance platforms, extension services, and regional trade frameworks like AfCFTA, to maximize the multiplier effect of this capital. If managed with transparency and vision, this partnership could stand as a model for how development finance institutions, national banks, and grassroots actors collaborate to reimagine African agriculture. It is not just about loans — it is about enabling dignity, resilience, and opportunity for Uganda’s farmers, particularly the women and youth who so often drive change yet remain under-served. A step forward not just for agriculture, but for inclusive development. #Agriculture #Finance #SustainableDevelopment #WomenAndYouth #ClimateSmartAgriculture #InclusiveGrowth #Uganda