The project for Strengthening Capacity for Youth Agribusiness Development in Uganda (SCADU), funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), is held an ICT workshop on 4th August 2023 at Protea Hotel to review the challenges and explore opportunities affecting access and usage of digital finance among youth involved in agribusiness.

The workshop was organized by KFCC (Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives), which is an implementing partner of the SCADU project and has brought together fintech experts and organizations. The project targets 4,000 youth to have training opportunities in Agriculture, Business Management, and Financial knowledge. KFCC will boost the financial accessibility for the selected youth beneficiaries of the project by supporting the formation and strengthening of 4 regional Saemaul Geumgos.

The workshop provided information about the MG digital system/platform and discussions on the issues on practices of the current financial digital platforms in Uganda. Whereas there are many digital finance platforms in Uganda, there is still a big challenge of tailoring these platforms to the real needs of the youth, especially those in rural farming communities. The nature of products, transactional processes and costs have excluded many youth. This workshop therefore was focused on mainstreaming the MG Digital financial system to close existing gaps that may inhibit youth participation, developing suitable products that are sensitive both to the youth and youth led agribusinesses.

This takes note of the fact that Uganda as a country comprises of 78% of its population below the age of 30 with a big potential to contribute enormously to achieving the middle-income status the country aspires for. It’s also noted that; while the figures on access to digital finance give a good impression, usage is extremely low due to limited income opportunities especially among the youth. SCADU project approach to this challenge gives hope, because of its two-fold strategy of enabling youth to work and earn as well as providing a safe and secure digital finance solution that can be accessed in rural and remote areas in Uganda.