What we do

We help thousands of women in Uganda to start or expand small businesses. The women are micro-entrepreneurs: they want to start a two acre farm, open a little shop, invest in fertilizers, buy a cow or a few pigs – over the years we have seen hundreds and hundreds of different business ideas. We help the women by giving them a small loan – a microcredit – which they repay in weekly installments over the course of a year. The women borrow in groups of five, with individual business plans but responsible for each other’s repayments.

We have now given out over 23,000 loans, at over 95% repayment. SYPO works in remote areas with low population density, where it’s too expensive for other microfinance organizations to provide financial services. SYPO keeps its cost base low with an innovative organization design and use of mobile technology. All operational costs are covered by interest paid on the microcredits, which ensures long term viability of the project. It also ensures that we can use 100% of your donation to help the women; none is used for costs of the organization.