DFCU Bank concluded a three-month business planning training for women entrepreneurs at Imperial Royale Hotel last week. The training was aimed at strengthening local women owned Small and Medium Enterprises SME's.

The training was done under the theme "Business planning for women-owned, growth oriented enterprises in Africa."

It was designed to enhance local women entrepreneurs' competitiveness through better approaches to finance and marketing. The training was carried out in four modules and was spread out over a period of four months with each session lasting three days.

According to DFCU's Managing Director Juma Kisaame, women-owned businesses have played a significant role to the growth of the private sector in Uganda. They continue to provide employment opportunities hence the need for training to better their skills.

"The training has provided women with the platform to receive training highly relevant to their business needs and the opportunity to network and share knowledge", Mr Kisaame said.

The training which is part of DFCU's Women In Business programme, was conducted in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank and Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PFSU).

Carried out by Enterprise Uganda, the training programme concentrated on imparting knowledge on marketing strategies, plan production, and forecast financial requirements and returns.

According to Mr Charles Ocici, the executive director of Enterprise Uganda, the training will help women entrepreneurs develop a culture of planning, and operating businesses based on well defined strategies.

"Constant training is important for any entrepreneur, the skills and knowledge acquired impact heavily on a business because the entrepreneur becomes better equipped to run and handle the every day challenges in a business environment", Mr Ocici explained.

"I thought I was properly equipped to run my business but when the training started I realised that I knew very little but thanks to the training I now know a lot more", Ms. Esther Namirembe, a participant said.

DFCU Bank, which recently celebrated 25 years of doing business in Uganda, is one of the top commercial banks in the country.