The Minister of State for Disability Affairs, Joyce Acan Okeny, says strict requirements for accessing GROW and UWEP funds are preventing women with disabilities from benefiting from government business support programmes.
Acan said many women with disabilities are unable to access the funds because they lack requirements such as land titles and formal business documentation, which she said fail to account for the challenges faced by persons with disabilities.
Speaking during a retreat for officials from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development at Jinja Resort Hotel, Acan said the programmes risk excluding some of the people they are intended to support.
“Our women with disabilities are willing to work and grow their enterprises, but the system asks for what they have been historically denied. You cannot ask for a land title from someone who has been denied the right to own land because of her disability,” Acan said.
She revealed that her office continues to receive complaints from persons with disabilities across the country who feel excluded from government empowerment programmes.
According to Acan, women with disabilities need targeted support to understand the application process, manage borrowed funds and use the money to grow sustainable businesses.
She proposed a nationwide training programme to equip women with disabilities with the knowledge and skills needed to access GROW and UWEP funding, utilise the money effectively and identify risks associated with borrowing.
Acan said financial support alone would not be enough without preparing beneficiaries to manage their businesses and make informed borrowing decisions.
“The goal is not just to give money, but to give knowledge first. We must prepare our women to use these funds sustainably and push for more inclusive requirements that consider the reality of Persons with Disabilities,” she said.
The concerns prompted the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Gen. Henry Tumukunde, to call an urgent meeting scheduled for Thursday to discuss ways of improving access to the funds for women with disabilities.
The meeting is expected to explore how the existing requirements can be made more inclusive while equipping potential beneficiaries with the knowledge needed to use the funds sustainably.
The GROW Project and UWEP are government initiatives aimed at supporting women’s economic empowerment through access to financing and enterprise development.
The minister’s concerns highlight the need to ensure that women with disabilities can also benefit from such interventions despite the barriers they face in accessing land, formalising businesses and obtaining credit.
