dfcu and MTN officials at the launch of the second phase of the Advancing Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) programme at MTN Uganda headquarters in Kampala on May 22.
Corporate leaders and entrepreneurship experts have called for stronger support systems to help women-owned businesses transition into scalable, investment-ready enterprises following the launch of the second phase of the Advancing Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) programme at MTN Uganda headquarters in Kampala on May 22.
The programme, implemented by MTN Uganda together with partners including dfcu Bank, Innovation Village, PSFU, American Tower Corporation and NSSF Hi Innovators, seeks to prepare women-led businesses for participation in formal corporate supply chains through training, mentorship, financial literacy and digital transformation.
Originally launched in October 2023 as a three-year initiative running until November 2026, AWE was designed to increase the participation of women-owned enterprises within MTN Uganda’s procurement ecosystem across sectors such as technology, logistics, facility management and commercial operations.
According to MTN Uganda, the first phase enabled more than 40 women-owned businesses to secure contracts worth over Shs18 billion, while 118 women entrepreneurs were onboarded in 2024 as part of a target to integrate 250 women suppliers by 2025.
Launching the second phase under the theme “She Means Business,” MTN Uganda chief executive Sylvia Mulinge said women entrepreneurs remain critical to Uganda’s economic transformation. more