Through its Building Resilience and Inclusive Growth of Highland farming systems for rural Transformation (BRIGHT) project, the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) has partnered with PostBank Uganda, leveraging PostBank’s Wendi Mobile Wallet to improve financial access for over 40,000 smallholder farmers.
The official launch of the initiative, which aims to onboard village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) onto the Wendi Mobile Wallet to provide members with group accounts, was held in Budwale Sub-County within the Mount Elgon Region on October 15.
“We are targeting 1,300 VSLAs, which include around 40,000 farmers across the Mount Elgon, Rwenzori, and Kigezi regions, with a focus on women and young people.”
roger Gilbert Nyakahuma, BRIGHT Financial Inclusion Lead
A baseline survey conducted by the BRIGHT project in the Rwenzori, Kigezi, and Mount Elgon regions revealed major obstacles to financial inclusion among smallholder farmers. These challenges include high interest rates, which range from 22% to 120% annually, lack of awareness about financial products, limited access to physical banking facilities, and collateral requirements that exclude smallholder farmers, women, and youth.
Furthermore, VSLAs distribute all their funds at the end of their 12-month cycle, limiting lending capacity at the start of the new cycle. Additionally, existing financial products offered by financial service providers are often not tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers.
During the launch, BRIGHT Financial Inclusion Lead Roger Gilbert Nyakahuma acknowledged PostBank Uganda for collaborating with IFDC to address these financial inclusion gaps through digital platforms such as the Wendi Mobile Wallet. He emphasized that the Wendi Mobile Wallet would be a game-changer in scaling financial access in areas without physical banking facilities.
Nyakahuma explained, “This partnership aims to link BRIGHT project VSLAs to the Wendi Mobile Wallet to improve access to financial products and services, addressing challenges identified in our baseline assessments. We are targeting 1,300 VSLAs, which include around 40,000 farmers across the Mount Elgon, Rwenzori, and Kigezi regions, with a focus on women and young people.”
Brenda Mpoora, Head of Fintech Business at PostBank Uganda, highlighted the bank’s commitment to fostering prosperity for rural communities, particularly those engaged in agriculture. “The Wendi Mobile Wallet will enable users to access savings accounts, earn 10% interest annually, perform transactions, and access credit. This partnership also offers an opportunity to equip farmers with financial literacy skills,” Mpoora said.
Enock Nuwabine, the BRIGHT Project Lead for Agriterra, highlighted the convenience of the Wendi Mobile Wallet, noting that it would help more farmers join the formal economy.
Agriculture is Uganda’s dominant economic activity, employing around 70% of the working population and contributing significantly to the country’s economy. The partnership between BRIGHT and PostBank Uganda will enhance financial inclusion and empower smallholder farmers by making financial services more accessible.
With funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the BRIGHT project is enhancing the resilience of 100,000 highland farm households in Uganda against economic and climate-related shocks, supporting households through inclusive farm planning and decision-making, introducing climate-smart agriculture techniques and technologies, strengthening local farming systems, conserving natural resources, and developing strategic value chains. BRIGHT is implemented in cooperation with Agriterra, the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), district local governments, and private sector partners.
