Finance on your doorstep
JumpStart Africa is a Ugandan microfinance social enterprise founded in 2016, lending to market vendors, boda boda riders, hairdressers, shop owners, salaried professionals and small business owners in and around Kampala. Over 90% of our borrowers are women.
Who we lend to
Most banks are built for people with a payslip and a land title. A woman selling charcoal in Nateete has neither, and she still needs stock money on Monday morning.
We lend to both. Market vendors, boda boda riders, hair stylists, cobblers and shopkeepers borrow through group and weekly loans. Teachers, nurses, pharmacists, mobile money agents and school directors borrow monthly or personally. The loan follows the income, rather than the other way round.
We have been lending in Uganda since 2016, and more than nine in ten of the people who borrow from us are women.
Our mission
Connecting people and empowering communities through provision of financial services (increasing access to capital/ affordability and flexibility).
Our vision
Sustained livelihoods of women and youth through business
Our purpose
Upholding the dignity of the human person through investment.
What we hold ourselves to
- Integrity
- Accountable, transparent, honest and fulfilling commitments in all we do.
- Customer-centricity
- Internal and external customers experiencing a positive feeling when they do business with us.
- Teamwork
- Develop mutual trust and respect between employees and clients.
- Empowerment
- Enable people to be able, give them enough information to make their own informed decisions.
- Inclusiveness
- All human beings were made equal. We focus on the inclusion of the less privileged.
How the lending actually works
Borrowing as a group
Traders from one market or one neighbourhood borrow together and guarantee each other. The group is the security, which is what makes a first loan possible for someone with no land title. You repay in small amounts at the weekly meeting, in front of the people who vouched for you.
Borrowing on your own
If you have a steady income or a month-end business, you can borrow individually instead. Some of these loans are secured and some are not — we run both. An officer will tell you which one applies before you commit to anything.
Group meetings run every week, week in and week out, on a day each group sets for itself. That is where repayments are collected, new members are introduced, and members get financial literacy, leadership and entrepreneurship training.
The people you will deal with
A small team, and we would rather show you the real one than a page of stock photographs. Every client is handled by an officer you can name and call.
Why you can check up on us
A lender asking for your trust should be easy to verify.
How long we have been lending
JumpStart Africa has operated as a social enterprise in Uganda since 2016.
Over 90%
of our borrowers are women
JumpStart Africa lends mainly through women's solidarity groups.
Since 2016
Lending in Uganda
JumpStart Africa was founded as a social enterprise in Uganda.
Where to find us
We work around Kampala — Nateete, Masanafu and out to Entebbe.