The uptake of Uwezo Fund in Vihiga County has currently continued to rise as more youth, women, and persons with disabilities embrace government financial empowerment initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods and creating employment opportunities.
Speaking during an interview, Vihiga Sub County Youth Officer, Vanolyne Ngaywa, said the fund has played a significant role in empowering vulnerable groups economically through financing income-generating activities in agriculture, services, and manufacturing.
Ngaywa explained that Uwezo Fund targets youth aged between 18 and 35 years, women of all ages, and persons living with disabilities, upon meeting the set requirements for eligibility.
“The beneficiaries must demonstrate interest in the fund by formally applying and must belong to a registered group that has been in existence for at least six months and above,” she said.
She further noted that groups seeking funding must have an operational bank account and actively engage in table banking structures and that applicants must fall within the eligible categories of beneficiaries and operate within the county.
According to Ngaywa, a vetting process is conducted before funds are disbursed to determine whether groups qualify for financial support and successful groups are then subjected to a five-day training programme focused on financial management and accountability.
“The training equips beneficiaries with financial literacy skills to ensure proper management of the funds and improve repayment rates,” she explained.
Data from the sub-county office indicates that 24 groups in Vihiga County have fully repaid their loans, demonstrating accountability and effective utilization of the fund, three groups in Vihiga Sub County including Busaima Women Group, Connector Group, and Mungoma Group have performed exceptionally well, having been refinanced after fully repaying their initial loans.
Ngaywa revealed that approximately Sh150 million has so far been disbursed under the programme where Sh20 million had been given to Vihiga Sub County and Sh6. 2 million repaid by the beneficiary groups rating the repayment at 30 percent, Sh28.4 million given to Sabatia Sub County and Sh11 million repaid rating it at 39 percent repayment rate, while the remaining amount was given to the rest of the sub counties within Vihiga County.
“The repayment rate remains low, which affects the sustainability of the programme because Uwezo Fund operates as a revolving fund,” she noted.
She explained that the fund does not receive additional allocations from headquarters once issued, meaning new loans depend largely on repayments made by previous beneficiaries.
“If beneficiaries fail to repay, fewer groups can access the fund in future,” she added.
Despite the repayment challenge, Ngaywa emphasized that the Uwezo Fund continues to transform lives by creating employment opportunities and enabling groups to establish sustainable economic activities in alignment with government development agenda.
She stated that in order to improve efficiency and accountability, the programme has also adopted a digital Loan Management System (LMS), which is currently under implementation and control stages.
“The new system allows applications to be done online while beneficiary data is uploaded digitally for easier management and monitoring,” she said.
She further said that all sub-counties within Vihiga are currently recording exceptionally high uptake of the fund, a sign that awareness and confidence in the programme continues to grow.
As economic challenges persist among vulnerable peoples, county officials hope increased participation, responsible financial management and timely loan repayments will strengthen the revolving fund and expand opportunities for more beneficiaries in the future.
by Clara Simiyu
