By Wadulo Arnold Mark
The East African Development Bank (EADB) has launched a dedicated USD 13 million fund to provide long-term, inclusive financing for youth and women-led enterprises across East Africa, seeking to bridge a multi-billion dollar credit gap that has long stifled the region’s most active entrepreneurs.
Announced during a Governing Council meeting in Kampala on May 8, 2026, the fund is part of EADB’s 2024–2028 Strategic Plan. It specifically targets a demographic that commercial lenders consistently underserve due to high perceived risks and lack of traditional security.
While Uganda is a global leader in business startups, entrepreneurs face a massive USD 8.8 billion financing gap. Sources indicate that 70% of MSMEs in Uganda have unmet credit needs, largely due to a banking sector that remains heavily reliant on fixed assets. Approximately 39% of formal loans require land as collateral, a prerequisite that many young people and women who often lack land titles or formal credit histories simply cannot meet.
Benard Mono, the Acting Director General of EADB,in an interview emphasized that the new USD 13 million fund is designed to “promote the entrepreneurs that are really suffering from getting access to financing”. Speaking on the outlook for the region, Mono noted that the bank would convert the funds into local currencies and distribute them through partner financial institutions to ensure rural and underserved entrepreneurs are reached.
“We agreed that part of our profits that we made in this year and part of other funds that we have, we dedicate them towards starting a fund that will specifically lend to youth and women in the region at a very affordable cost through the partner financial institutions. Mono remarked in an interview.
“We are looking forward to partnering with them to support them to move forward in creating employment, promoting import substitution, and also promoting our exports’ value-added products from our region” he added.
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, Uganda holds the second-highest Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) index (31.6) in the world, trailing only Peru. This indicates an extraordinary baseline of entrepreneurial competence meaning Ugandan youth are well-positioned to establish and grow world-class businesses.
By leveraging EADB’s long-term concessional loans youth-led firms can scale beyond the “subsistence” phase. This financing provides the necessary capital to help the 30% of Ugandan SMEs that currently fail before their third birthday survive and transition into the regional manufacturing and value-addition sectors.
The Council meeting was attended by Hon. Matia Kasaija, Uganda Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Chairman of the EADB Governing Council, Hon. Yusuf Murangwa, Rwanda Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and member of EADB Governing Council, Hon. FCPA John Mbadi Ng’ongo EGH, Kenya Cabinet Secretary National Treasury and Economic Planning and member of EADB Governing Council, Hon. Amb. Khamis Mussa Omar, United Republic of Tanzania Minister of Finance and member of EADB Governing Council as well as members of the EADB Board of Directors.
