UWEA

LUganda Women Entrepreneurs

Association Limited

Envisage a Wealthy Woman Responsibly Contributing to National Economic Development

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BackgroundUganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Ltd (UWEAL), is a Company Limited by Guarantee. It was incorporated in October, 1987 with the aim of promoting women entrepreneurs in Uganda. It is non-partisan and non-profi t making. UWEAL is fi rmly placed in the private sector to assist and provide necessary support and guidance to women entrepreneurs and to advocate for favorable policies through which women entrepreneurs can fl ourish. Members of the organization include; individual women, women groups and corporate members in different sectors like education, agriculture, manufacturing, art and crafts, textiles and trade. UWEAL offers services such as capacity building, networking and advocacy.

VisionEnvisage a wealthy woman responsibly contributing to national economic development

MissionEmpower women entrepreneurs to create wealth through capacity building, networking and advocacy.

Goals• To promote networking among women entrepreneurs.• To build the Secretariat’s capacity to provide member services.• To equip rural women to harness available business opportunities.• To develop relevant programs for UWEAL members.• To develop institutional sustainability initiatives.

Objectives• To train, mentor and counsel women to start, sustain and grow their businesses.• To support product development, provide Business Development Services (BDS) and linkages to markets.• To build women entrepreneurs’ capacity to access export markets.• To support business women networking exchanges and mentorship forums.• To support the Women Investment Club (WIC) and promote a savings and investment culture while encouraging the growth and sustainability of women entrepreneurs’ businesses.

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Training

This service is provided to members who have business challenges. Under this program, needs assessment studies are performed to ensure that the needs of UWEAL members are understood and considered before training interventions are designed. We have a number of training programs throughout the year.

Mentoring

This service is provided to members who wish to start a business or those in business but facing challenges of management and sustainability. Mentoring is geared towards motivating and guiding women entrepreneurs to persist in growing their businesses. Additionally, it builds confi dence among women and girls as they plan to undertake businesses or implement their business plans. UWEAL also provides mentoring services in partnership with other organizations.

Business CounselingSome members come seeking guidance on how to start, sustain or grow a business. We provide counseling sessions by appointment and invite business experts to provide counselling services.

ServicesCapacity building

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Women Entrepreneurs Exchange Network (EWEExN). UWEAL is also the Network Hub for Africa Businesswomen’s Network (ABWN), a network that brings together six organisations from six African countries namely; Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa.

AdvocacyUWEAL is a voice for women entrepreneurs in Uganda, advocating for a conducive business environment in which they can thrive. A power house for women entrepreneurs, UWEAL has over the years built the confi dence of major stakeholders like the Government of Uganda and development partners who view the association a credible mouthpiece for women entrepreneurs in Uganda.

MembershipUWEAL has a wide membership base that is comprised of women entrepreneurs from various districts. These include among others; Bugiri, Bushenyi, Gulu, Jinja, Kabale, Kampala, Lira, Luwero, Mpigi and Soroti.

Membership Categories

NetworkingAt UWEAL, we believe providing opportunities for women to meet and share experiences on how to start, sustain and grow a business makes a difference in an enterpreneur’s mind. We also encourage women to create markets for each other through personal contacts established when we bring them together. Our members are therefore exposed to potential markets nationally, regionally and internationally through our membership to organisations such as EABC, PSFU and the newly established East African

How to join UWEALIt takes only three steps:• Complete a membership form at the UWEAL

Secretariat.• Pay a one-time membership fee. • Pay an annual subscription fee.

Membership Category Membership Fee

Annual Subscription

Individual/Ordinary For women seeking to join on an individual basis and participate in UWEAL activities.

20,000 50,000

Women Groups/Companies For those wishing to register their entities. This allows individuals to participate in UWEAL activities.

20,000 75,000

Corporate Bodies For major entities interested in supporting women entrepreneurs.

20,000 100,000

Honorary By Invitation N/A

Mentors, Speakers and Donors By Invitation N/A

Chapters 250,000 250,000

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ProgramsBreakfast Meetings

UWEAL hosts strong business present-ers speaking on knowledge enriching topics at monthly breakfasts. This is yet another networking opportunity for women entrepreneurs where information is shared on various business topics. Members are updated on upcoming business events and networking oppor-tunities are created.

Women Investment Club (WIC–SACCO)WIC was registered in July, 2005 as a women savings and credit cooperative society to enhance women’s access to fi nancial services. To emulate this, similar savings groups have been started by women in UWEAL district chapters.

ACCESS! for African Businesswomen in International TradeFunded by the International Trade Centre, this is an enterprise support development program designed to strengthen capacities of women entrepreneurs, provide access to regional and international markets and promote the use of Information and Com-munication Technologies in international trade. It targets African women entrepre-neurs with a fair level of management competence who are emerging, actual or potential exporters. The program consists of four components; Exporter Training, Exporter Business Counseling, Access to Trade Information and Access to Markets.

Girl Entrepreneurship Program (GEP)

GEP creates awareness about business and entrepreneurship in secondary schools, tertiary institutions and universities. Successful women entrepreneurs visit institutions and share their business experiences with the students and teachers. The objective is to inspire them to develop a spirit of entrepreneurship, become creative, innovative and be job creators rather than job seekers.

Programs

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Annual Business Achievers’ AwardsAt the end of every year, UWEAL recognizes women who have excelled in entrepreneurship. The objective of the Awards is to motivate the winners to carry on and to inspire all women to work even harder. The Awards are open to all women entrepreneurs irrespective of UWEAL member-ship. Members are also honored for their exemplary and selfl ess service to UWEAL.

Annual EventsAnnual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the supreme and policy-making organ of the association composed of paid up members. It meets once a year and elects the Board of Directors (BOD) every three years. The BOD is entrusted with ensuring that strategic plans and institutional policy decisions are implemented and resources for implementation are mobilized. It also monitors and evaluates progress of imple-mentation of programs and activities.

East African Women Entrepreneurs Exchange Network (EAWEExN)

This program was launched in July, 2007 as the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs’ Exchange (UWEE) to provide an opportunity for Uganda’s women entrepreneurs to exhibit their products and network with one another. The network has since grown to include seven countries in the region and in 2009 was re-launched as the East African Women Entrepreneurs Exchange Network to create a regional networking platform.

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Month of the Woman Entrepreneur (MOWE)

The International Labor Organization through its project on Women Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality (ILO-WEDGE), in collaboration with Women Entrepreneurs Associations in Uganda formed a partnership designed to widely promote the role of Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED) in national development. Through this concept, the Women Entrepreneur Associations in Uganda dedicated the month of November as the ‘Month of the Woman Entrepreneur (MOWE)’.

During MOWE, a combination of different events ranging from capacity building, business exhibitions and advocacy forums are carried out with an aim of creating an enabling business environment for women entrepreneurs, promoting the role of Women Entrepreneurship Development in national development and recognizing the potential and achievements of women entrepreneurs in generating employment and incomes. All MOWE activities address women entrepreneurs including those with disabilities and those living with HIV/AIDS.`

MOWE Objectives:

• To widely promote the role of Women Entrepreneurship Development in national development by recognizing the potential and achievements of women entrepre-neurs in generating employment and incomes.

• To showcase women entrepreneurs as role models.

• To renew the commitment of all concerned stakeholders towards the promotion of women entrepreneurship development.

• To disseminate information and exchange good practices in the areas of Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and raise critical issues affecting women entrepre-neurs for the attention of policy makers and other relevant stakeholders.

U W E A L

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DIRECTIONS / MAP TO UGANDA WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ASSOCIATION LIMITED

TO WANDEGEYA

LUMUMBA AVENUE

YMCA

FROM WANDEGEYA

UWEAL

Directions to UWEAL Secretariat

Plot 38 Lumumba Avenue, NakaseroP .O. Box 10002, Kampala (U)

Tel: +256 414 343 952, +256 312 271 451Email: uweal@uweal.co.ugWebsite: www.uweal.co.ug