After weeks of anticipation, we are finally leaving for Kampala, Uganda tomorrow. Myself and Blanca Mendez, from Oikocredit are here to meet the people behind the theories. In a couple of days, we will be joined by 12 Oikocredit volunteers from around the world - Canada, the Netherlands, UK, Austria and Germany.
This is my first international business trip with Oikocredit, to a continent I’ve never set foot on before. I’ve travelled to developing countries in the past, and now I’ve written about them almost every day for the past 18 months as a project officer of Oikocredit’s communications department. So, as much as I’d like to pretend I am being typically Australian about this – relaxed, no worries - I have to start off with a note of honesty… I’m nervous.
But it seems I'm mainly paranoid about forgetting to pack something important... Apart from that, I'm just excited to meet our project partners, their beneficiaries and finally see the part of the world known as, 'The Pearl of Africa'.'
I hope you'll join me over the next two weeks, and I can share the real side of fair financing with you. A quick rundown of some of Uganda's history and current situation.
Oikocredit
Oikocredit is a ‘socially responsible investor’. Basically, it means that the money investors put into Oikocredit (either as individuals or institutions) is invested in projects of a positive and sustainable social nature. In the case of Oikocredit, we focus on ‘fair financing’ in general. That involves investing in microfinance institutions (MFIs), fair trade organizations, small/medium enterprises and cooperatives that are either based or operate in developing countries. In turn, these ‘project partners’ work to give poor people the tools, skills and opportunity to work their way out of poverty… perhaps through a microloan, or through the support of a cooperative that ensures a fair price for their produce. At the moment, we have 790 projects in 70 countries around the world. 26 of those projects are based in Uganda and I’ll be visiting these four in the next fortnight:
- RUCREF
- CEDO
- Opportunity Uganda
- Barefoot Power
Why the trip?
Day after day, we hear that microfinance, fair trade and small/medium-sized business investment gives people the tools and opportunity to help themselves out of poverty. Now, we have the chance to talk with these people and connect the people to the business model. Our investors need to know where their money goes, and how it is used. We are here to be the eyes and ears of each of those investors who are curious about the effects of their investment. With this trip we will gain first hand information of what comes from investments in Oikocredit. With an investment that relies on both a social and financial return, it's often difficult to measure the social part. It's not measurable in terms of figures: it is essentially qualitative. And it's emotional: the judgement of 'happiness' or 'life improvement' seems to be based on a million subjective elements. But for many in the industry, the effect on an individual or family's life holds more weight than any other.
Oikocredit & Uganda
Oikocredit invested in its first Uganda project in April 2005. Of the 26 projects we have here are 16 are microfinance institutions (MFIs), two are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), 5 SACCOS (Savings and Credit Cooperatives) and 1 is an equity investment. We are also investing in two universities to be opened soon. About 11.1 million euros (approximately 17 million USD) in loans has been fully disbursed by Oikocredit in Uganda.
Crash course on Uganda – some facts & figures
Uganda’s population stands at about 32 million. It’s surrounded by Kenya (east), Tanzania (south), Rwanda (southwest), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (west). A large part of Uganda’s border is made up of Lake Victoria (which apparently you shouldn't swim in because of some strange parasite). Presently, there is a food crisis and about three in four people live below the poverty line of US$2 a day. The life expectancy is around 52 for me, 54 for women. Christians make up about 84 per cent of the population, followed by Islam with 12 per cent.
HIV/AIDS
The 2007 estimate for number of people living with HIV/AIDS is 940,000. The country is regarded as the African frontrunner in lowering the rate of infection – and many attribute that to openness on the subject (see pic to the right). In the past five years, infection stats have stayed at 6%, but between 1990 and 2002 it stood at three times that percentage. Unfortunately, an anti-homosexuality bill is threatening to endanger Uganda’s progress in regards to the AIDS epidemic. If enforced, people who test positive to HIV/AIDS and engage in homosexual activity would be executed. Read more on this at Human Rights Watch.
The Butcher
It's unfortunate, but one of the first thoughts most people have of Uganda is Idi Armin. The former president, known as ‘The Butcher of Uganda’, is estimated to be responsible for the death, torture and/or imprisonment of between 100,000 to 500,000 people during the 70s. Armin died in excile in Saudi Arabia in August 2003. Read more on Idi Amin and Uganda’s political history.
Uganda fact of the day
Some of the titles Idi Amin gave himself, as reported in "A Clown Drenched in Brutality", Sunday Times, 27 July 2003.
"His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
