The minister says proper loan management, accountability and reinvestment are key to building sustainable businesses and ensuring more entrepreneurs benefit from government funding.
State Minister for General Duties Cissy Mulondo has urged Emyooga beneficiaries to embrace financial discipline, accountability and transformative leadership to grow their businesses, create jobs and contribute to Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
Mulondo said government funding should be invested productively to build sustainable enterprises, warning beneficiaries against treating Emyooga seed capital as free money.
“Emyooga seed capital is a revolving fund, not free money,” Mulondo said, urging beneficiaries to repay their loans promptly to allow other members to access the funds.
She made the remarks while closing a transformative leadership development training organised by the Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi.
Mulondo said wealth creation requires ideological clarity, personal discipline and a shift from subsistence living towards active participation in the money economy.
She noted that government financing can drive economic transformation when beneficiaries invest in productive activities, manage their businesses responsibly and generate sustainable income for their households and enterprises.
Treating government support as a donation, she said, undermines the programme’s sustainability and limits opportunities for other entrepreneurs who depend on revolving funds to establish or expand their businesses.
Emyooga provides financing through specialised Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs), supported by business development services, to help organised enterprise groups access credit and improve their livelihoods. The Microfinance Support Centre is the programme’s lead implementing agency.
Mulondo called for transparent implementation, stronger accountability and effective fund management to ensure beneficiaries realise lasting economic gains.
She urged SACCO leaders to maintain proper financial records, strengthen internal controls and ensure members understand their responsibilities in borrowing, repayment and saving.
The minister also challenged entrepreneurs to separate personal expenditure from business capital, keep accurate accounts and reinvest part of their profits to expand production.
She said these practices would improve financial stability, help businesses manage operating costs and strengthen their ability to serve larger markets.
Mulondo outlined four pillars of transformative leadership that she said should guide Emyooga beneficiaries in managing their enterprises and contributing to national development: patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation and democracy.
On patriotism, she encouraged beneficiaries to protect public resources, repay loans and build strong domestic enterprises.
Under Pan-Africanism, she challenged entrepreneurs to explore regional and continental markets rather than limit their ambitions to their immediate communities.
She said socio-economic transformation should focus on wealth creation, employment and market-oriented production, while democracy requires transparency, accountability and inclusive decision-making within SACCOs and enterprise associations.
Mulondo also encouraged beneficiaries to work with other government wealth-creation initiatives, including the Parish Development Model and Presidential Skilling Hubs, to expand their economic opportunities.
She said coordination among the programmes could help beneficiaries strengthen their business skills, access productive resources and identify opportunities for enterprise growth.
Addressing the trainees as “Kyankwanzi Torchbearers”, Mulondo urged them to share the knowledge acquired during the training with other community members and promote sound governance within their respective SACCOs.
She further called for stronger auditing, improved financial management and increased production to enable Ugandan enterprises to meet demand in domestic, regional and continental markets.
Emyooga beneficiaries operate in a business environment where limited capital, market competition and operating costs can make it difficult for small enterprises to grow and remain sustainable.
Effective management of revolving funds is therefore critical. Loan repayments replenish the available capital, enabling other members to borrow and invest in income-generating activities.
Mulondo urged beneficiaries and SACCO leaders to uphold integrity, hard work, accountability and responsible financial management, saying these principles were essential to building sustainable enterprises and advancing Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.