Women admire beads made by women groups in Sironko District. Women now have a reason to smile because they have the Uganda Finance Trust Bank to boost their financial activities.

It all started with a group of women. Driven by the dream of financial freedom, they carried the hopes of other women and many low income people in Uganda that someday a small microfinance institution would usher many into a life of plenty. Inspite of the wars that had rocked the country in the 1970’s, cultural prejudices and relatively low incomes, they still trudged on toward their goal.

At the 1975 International Women’s Conference in Mexico, the decade between the years of 1975-1985 had been dedicated to the empowerment of women, but nine years later, little had changed for women in Uganda. In the year 1984, single women could not open personal accounts in most commercial banks. Married women on the other hand, could open a savings account, but only after their spouse agreed to it.
First womens commercial bank launched in Uganda