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Microfinance institution in Uganda financing the purchase of clean cooking solutions
TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS MODEL
Microfinance institution
COUNTRIES OF OPERATION
Uganda
E&S RISK CLASSIFICATION
FI-3 - Low Risk
SPARK+ INVESTMENT
$0.8 million senior unsecured loan
USE OF PROCEEDS
Capital for onlending to support portfolio growth and develop a clean cooking loan book.
WEBSITE
Umoja Microfinance SMC Limited is a Tier IV microfinance institution serving over 84,000 borrowers, 100 percent of whom are women and roughly 70 percent of whom live in rural areas. Founded in 2020 after acquiring a small local lender, Umoja has rapidly expanded to 89 branches across Uganda, offering small, short-term group loans averaging USD 100 to 800 to support women’s income-generating activities.
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The Spark+ facility will finance loan-portfolio growth related to clean cooking. Umoja plans to launch a new product line financing improved biomass and LPG cookstoves, as well as related household energy equipment, offered to existing women clients under its group-lending framework.
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The MFI is partnering with local LPG and cookstove suppliers for product sourcing and distribution. By embedding affordable clean cooking finance into its mainstream lending, Umoja aims to improve health outcomes, reduce household fuel costs, and advance gender and climate goals for rural women entrepreneurs.