2022 has been a turbulent year. Worldwide, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been affected by inflation, in particular by high prices of energy and raw materials, volatility in financial markets and supply chain disruptions. Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to business shutdowns, demand shifts in the market and disruptions in supply chains, 2022 has been characterised by uncertainty and volatility for many SMEs. It became clear, more than ever, that innovative, entrepreneurial, viable solutions are necessary to drive and spearhead a green and inclusive economic recovery and a transition to sustainable, just economies.
Together with its partners, UGEFA has navigated this turbulent year, and looks back at exciting highlights, as we work together to increase access to finance for green SMEs in Uganda at scale:
179 green enterprises: 2,732 SMEs registered for UGEFA since 2020; to date 179 have been selected and successfully completed the intense capacity building workshop series to refine their business models, financial management systems and documentation, as well as impact planning and monitoring. More than 20 interactive, multi-day workshops took place in 2022, with over 150 sessions to co-create, exchange and network. All workshops have been guided by globally tested and proven enterprise support toolkits, aiming at maximising the value of business and financial strategy workshops for enterprise teams.
If you are interested to learn more about UGEFA’s portfolio of green SMEs, download our brochure here.
98% of enterprises rated the UGEFA capacity building programme as outstanding or better than other programmes. Enterprises evaluated four aspects, including “important topics of my enterprise were addressed”, “exchange with peers was facilitated”, “me and my team were engaged” and “the growth of my enterprise was supported”. Due to a lack of business development standards, the quality of enterprise support provided – globally but also in Uganda – varies. Acknowledging that SMEs dedicate time and energy in attending trainings – both valuable resources when running a small business – UGEFA’s mission has been to provide best-in-class training, which is considered to be useful, relevant, effective and impactful by training participants.
11 banks participated in UGEFA’s Green Finance Academy. The Green Finance Academy offers a modular training course for commercial banks to deepen the understanding of the concept of green finance, the role of the banking sector in the green transition, and related financial growth opportunities. It aims to support commercial banks in Uganda to champion investments in green growth and green job creation. More than 40 bankers participated in the Academy in 2022, which culminated in a high-level green finance expert exchange event, where innovative green finance instruments were discussed. Further Green Finance Academy courses will be offered in 2023, drawing on the extensive expertise of adelphi, advising a range of financial institutions around the world on topics such as climate strategy development, green finance product and system development, green finance origination and appraisal, pipeline and project development.
If you are interested in UGEFA’s Green Finance Academy 2023, get in touch with us.
Measuring UGEFA’s achievements
26 % revenue growth of average and 170 green jobs created: Our 2022 Impact Assessment shows that as green enterprises grow, they create significant impacts. Enterprises that joined Cycle 1 and 2 of the programme grew their annual revenue by an average of 26% this year, despite the turbulent economic environment. By so doing, they created 170 new full time jobs, and employ 15.75 full time employees on average. As they access finance to catalyse their growth, these impacts are set to multiply, accelerating green and inclusive job creation in Uganda’s economy.
Interested in our impact insights? Stay tuned for our 2022 Impact Insights early next year!
3,000 Million UGX (780,000 EUR): UGEFA’s Funding Facilitation Facility unlocked more than 3,000,000,000 UGX for green SMEs so far, in collaboration with UGEFA’s partner banks Equity Bank Uganda, Yako Bank and Opportunity Bank. Most UGEFA-supported enterprises indicated (more than 50%) that their growth plans are aiming at market penetration, followed by a smaller share of enterprises (20%) planning to scale their operations by further expanding their existing, proven markets. The recently accessed finance will allow green SMEs to invest mainly in specialised equipment for production, vehicles to increase their distribution reach and raw materials to increase production volumes. By scaling their operations and bringing more products and services to the market, SMEs with green business models will scale their positive sustainability impacts, for example by replacing conventional, non-renewable energy sources by clean energy, increasing an efficient, sustainable use of resources or reducing waste.
Are you interested in further insights on green SME clusters, the difference between “scaling green” and “going” green and growth journeys of green SMEs? Get in touch with us.
adelphi would like to thank all our partners - the EU Delegation Uganda for continuous support, our Business Advisors for always going the extra mile, our partner banks for our excellent collaboration on green sector financing and our green SME community for their energy, commitment and positive attitude to make 2022 a successful year. We are looking forward to an impactful year 2023.
