Harriet Nakkazi Nsamba, a seasoned real estate entrepreneur, has built a successful business over the past 40 years in the competitive world of property development.
Residing in Lwasa Road, Mutungo, Nakawa Division, Nakazi is the proud owner of over 30 rental units. However, her journey to becoming a leading figure in the real estate sector wasn't always planned.
She started her career in the second-hand clothes business but soon realized the profitability of real estate.
This shift led her to retire from selling clothes and focus on building low-income housing, specializing in both single and double units.
According to Nakazi, building real estate, however, comes with its own set of challenges and construction requires substantial capital to sustain projects until completion, and having adequate finances is crucial for filling the units with tenants.
"Unfinished buildings never generate income and often remain vacant, leading to financial loss" Nakazi says. She goes on to add that this was a challenge she faced time and time again, especially when funds were running low.
With her rentals needing renovation, Nakazi turned to her Church, St Paul Paul Church Mutungo where she is a member of the Mother's Union and this was when one of the speakers during a meeting talked about the GROW loan initiative.
She applied for the Grow loan and in two weeks, Finance Trust Bank approved Shs18 million.
With the loan, Nakkazi was able to immediately renovate her dilapidated unit and use the balance to start a new project: a triple-story building with nine rental units.
She is optimistic that she will be able to repay the loan within the agreed 18-month period, with a 10.5% interest rate, and is already planning to apply for further loans to complete the new structure.
The GROW project disbursed funds to banks that include Finance Trust Bank, Centenary Bank, Equity, DFCU and Post Bank.
Women who own most shares of their business can access the loans from any of these banks. The process is simple as they only present collateral, a trading license, national identity card, passport photos, guarantors, and a letter from the LC1 chairperson.
The loan that ranges from Shs2 million to Shs200 million is repaid within 24 months with an interest rate of as low as 10%.
