French Embassy partners Stanbic to train start-ups for green economy

The Stanbic Business Incubator Limited (SBIL) has signed a new grant agreement with the embassy of France in Uganda to finance the Green Tech Incubator and Accelerator for Entrepreneurship Program.

The program, which targets the youth and women in the Kampala Metropolitan Area and the Albertine region, aims to promote the development of a green, resilient and highly innovative economy.

Virginie Leroy, the French ambassador, and Catherine Poran, the SBIL chief executive, signed the agreement at the embassy in Kampala on September 30. In her remarks, Leroy said: “The project will support more than 200 Ugandan youth and women small and micro-Enterprises in sectors like sustainable cities, green mobility, circular economy, waste management, renewable ener- gies, water and health, and smart agro/ agri technologies, by strengthening their capacities, facilitating their access to finance and markets and creating an environment that fosters their growth.”

The Stanbic Green Tech Accelerator is a two-year initiative and is estimated to cost €687,833, including the French embassy grant of €450,000 (about Shs 1.8 billion) of which €131,351 will be released in the first installment.

SBIL on its part is committed to co-financing the project to a tune of €237,833 (34.5%). Poran said, “We are deeply grateful to the French embassy for their vision and trust in supporting us and making this program a reality. Your investment is creating a transformative change in Uganda. Through this program, we anticipate to support north of 300 entrepreneurs to pilot and scale solutions, directly training over 1,000 entrepreneurs, ensuring at least 60% are women and youth”.

The incubator was established in 2018 to help nurture and empower SMEs in Uganda to become resilient and sustainable businesses. It is the enterprise development subsidiary of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited which is part of the pan-African, Standard Bank Group, the continent’s biggest lender by assets.

To date, SBIL has trained over 11,400 entrepreneurs and businesses in management strategy, specifically financial management, and risk management. It has also supported them to formalize and access finance as well as facilitated access to millions of dollars in funding and marketing opportunities.