VisionFund Uganda opens Iganga branch for Busoga Sub-region

VisionFund Uganda has opened an office in Iganga District, Eastern Uganda, making it the first in Busoga Sub-region and bringing the total number of branches to 24 and seven field offices.

Previously, VisionFund Uganda customers from Busoga travelled to either Tororo, Mbale and Soroti district for services.

However, the newly-opened Iganga branch will now serve 10 other districts in the Sub-region, including Jinja, Mayuge, Kaliro, Luuka, Buyende, Kamuli, Namutumba, Bugiri, Namayingo, and Bugweri.

VisionFund Uganda Chief Executive Officer, Ms Mercy Sande Ainomugisha, said the new branch will provide tailored credit solutions to empower local entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, to achieve sustainable growth through financial literacy.

“For over 25 years, we have been dedicated to transforming lives, having positively impacted nearly 250,000 children in rural and vulnerable communities across Uganda,” Ms Ainomugisha said at the launch on September 12.

She added that they have invested in digitization to enable their customers to do business without going to the branch.

The Christian and child-focused microfinance institution, owned by VisionFund International and World Vision Uganda, is regulated by the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA), a government agency, that also supervises and licences the non-banking financial institutions’ sector.

World Vision Uganda National Director, Jeremiah Nyagah, said: “VisionFund is born out of World Vision; the newly-opened Iganga branch is young, but we are already seeing the impact. VisionFund has extended its tentacles to the most-vulnerable communities.”

He added: “VisionFund and World Vision have a lot in common as we both aim at impacting on the lives of vulnerable children.

“Our plan and strategy are to grow more branches in the Eastern part of the country. As World Vision, our five-year plan is to increase our presence in Busoga Sub-region.”

The Executive Director Association of Microfinance Institutions of Uganda (AMFIU), Ms Jackline Mbabazi, said: “VisionFund Uganda is unique, has funds and has been supportive to the sector.”

Ms Edith Namugga Tusuubira, the UMRA Executive Director, said they have over 800 complaints in their system, but there is none against VisionFund Uganda.

Ms Tusuubira warned moneylenders against allegedly “interfering with operations of the non-banking sector.”

She said: “We are trying to fight these people (moneylenders) to stop interfering in the operations of Microfinance Deposit-taking Institutions (MDIs),” she said.