Patapia
Refugee-women entrepreneurship program in Kampala
Patapia supports refugee women to start their own SMEs in Kampala. The majority of refugee women lost their source of livelihood during Covid-19 and yet most refugee households are women-led. Patapia believes that if refugee women can access the financing and support to start and run their own businesses, then they can sustainably provide for their families. Since June 2020, Patapia has trained 100+ women and financed over 50 women who are successfully running their businesses.
Low-interest loans are provided without collateral and with flexible payment periods between 6 and 24 months. Patapia journeys with each woman from the idea, to financing and to the growth of the businesses through their ‘Start and grow your business’ program. The program includes training and mentoring from a team of experienced mentors and entrepreneurs while translating business development tools to everyday laywomen.
To overcome the lack of collateral, the women come together in groups of five (business families) where the members act as guarantors and hold each other accountable. Entrepreneurs have the chance to open a savings account, which allows them to accumulate some capital to grow their business.
All profits generated through the interests are reinvested in more women businesses thereby creating a greater impact. Through cloud-based banking software, Patapia automates financial reporting while providing transparency and ease of conducting transactions for women. With mobile banking integration, the women can save, withdraw, and pay back loans at the touch of a button
Runner-up
One of the Patapia mentors mentoring one of the refugee women