Uganda Summit Boosts Women in Agribusiness

In order to address the enormous gender disparities in Uganda's agricultural sector, UN Women Uganda organized the Source of the Nile Women in Agribusiness Summit and Expo from January 15th to 16th, 2024. With 3.9 million women working in agriculture across 7 million families, the focus was on expanding women's responsibilities beyond on-farm production.

The gender gap in critical agribusiness components such as processing, storage, distribution, packaging, branding, and marketing costs an estimated US$67-100 million per year, or 20-30 percent of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The conference was attended by high-level politicians such as Hon. Betty Amongi and Hellen Adoa, who emphasized the need of collaboration in addressing gender imbalances in agriculture. Dr. Paulina Chiwangu, UN Women Uganda Country Representative, emphasized the possibility for women to pitch businesses to investors while also addressing the impediments to effective involvement.

Over sixty women entrepreneurs displayed their goods across the agriculture value chain, pitching private investors, local businesses, and government. Access to cheap loans, weather adaptability, post-harvest protection, and alleviating labour costs associated with manual cultivation were among the issues raised.

Dr. Maxime Houinato, UN Women Regional Director for ESARO, emphasized the event's transformational potential and the importance of sharing success stories throughout Africa. Ministers Amongi and Adoa emphasized the need of helping women's transitions to the formal sector, as well as ICT use for product sales, innovation, and inclusion.

The conference, which will be held annually, intends to promote collaboration among women in agribusiness, investors, and government stakeholders, bringing female entrepreneurs to the forefront of Uganda's agricultural industry. The UN Women Country Office has created a comprehensive directory of Women in Business to help you network and connect with possible investors and business partners.