By MMJ Immanuel Benedicto Misagga – Kifuuta Oracle
Ugandan commercial banks must abandon rigid lending practices that lock out aspiring entrepreneurs and embrace innovative financing models that support businesses from inception, argues MMJ Immanuel Benedicto Misagga, the Kifuuta Oracle.
In his latest commentary, Misagga contends that requiring years of audited accounts, substantial land titles and established cash flows before approving loans prevents young innovators from transforming promising ideas into viable enterprises.
“We have insulted the darkness enough. Now let us light the candle,” he declares, calling for a banking revolution that prioritises innovation, commitment and productive potential over conventional collateral.
Drawing lessons from international financing models, the Oracle proposes seven reforms to unlock Uganda’s entrepreneurial potential.
First, banks should establish technical assessment desks staffed by engineers, agronomists and other specialists capable of evaluating business ideas before demanding financial records that start-ups cannot provide.
Second, entrepreneurs’ investments in machinery, warehouses and equipment should count towards their equity contribution, reducing dependence on land titles as the principal security for credit.
He also advocates milestone-based financing, under which lenders release funds progressively as businesses achieve agreed targets, limiting misuse and reducing lending risks.
Community-based guarantees, purchase-order financing and revenue-sharing arrangements feature prominently in his proposals.
Under these approaches, borrowers could access funding through group accountability, confirmed customer contracts or repayments linked to actual sales.
Misagga further recommends partnerships between commercial banks, government institutions and innovation hubs, supported by credit guarantees to distribute risk and encourage investment in emerging enterprises.
His policy proposals include a dedicated start-up lending framework, a national register recognising machinery and productive assets as collateral, and incentives for banks financing young businesses and green industries.
He urges aspiring entrepreneurs to explore financing opportunities through the Uganda Development Bank, Emyooga and relevant development programmes while pursuing credible buyers and business partnerships.
“A bank that only funds what is running is a museum that keeps the past and kills the future,” he argues.
For the Kifuuta Oracle, Uganda’s economic transformation depends on financial institutions willing to recognise potential, manage risk intelligently and finance enterprise before success becomes obvious.
