Kampala — Ugandans are gradually going back to borrowing money from banks after an interlude of hesitancy either due to the political period or high interest rates.
“The economy is stable and the interest rates have not gone up. The situation of loan uptakes is normalising. We see people especially the low income earners borrowing in groups,” Christopher Geriga, the Managing Director of Opportunity Bank Uganda Limited told East African Business Week in Kampala in line with the upcoming Global Money Week.
He said the level of loan uptake in Uganda in the last months has been low and very few people were borrowing or had interest to borrow.
Geriga said they expect full loan uptake recovery by the end of March since the political concerns may be concluded by then and people may have evaded any fear or tension.
The Global Money Week (GMW), which is being celebrated in partnership with the Private Education Development Network(PEDN), Opportunity Bank, CITI Bank and Bank of Uganda, is a global money awareness celebration that takes place every year during the 2nd week of March.
It is coordinated by the Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) Secretariat to raise awareness on Economic Citizenship and directly engage children and youth worldwide on the issue.
The celebration of Global Money Week consists of a series of activities held at the regional, national and local level by the partners and stakeholders of the Child and Youth Finance Movement, and are geared toward engaging children, youth and their communities in learning about financial education and financial inclusion.
Celebrations started in Uganda last week with children interacting with Managing Directors of Opportunity Bank Uganda and CITI bank.
According to Nixon Ochatre the Acting Executive Director of the Private Education Development Network (PEDN), they work with Opportunity Bank to do the Girls Education Challenge through promoting financial education and conducting meet and mentor sessions for children in finance.
They also interest girls to use financial institutions and develop a saving culture.
The Global Money Week also brings the world one step closer to ensuring that every child will have access to financial services, financial awareness through education, a reliable source of income, and the inclination to save money.
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Credit: All Africa
