The Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited (UWEAL) has raised concerns over the growing mental health challenges faced by women in business in Uganda.
During UWEAL’s Entrepreneurship Interface and Market Days, held from November 1 to 2, which attracted over 500 women entrepreneurs, UWEAL’s CEO Connie Kekihembo said mental health was now a key focus for the association because it directly impacts the success of women in enterprise.
The event also marked the official launch of the Month of the Woman Entrepreneur (MoWE) 2025.
“As you all know, if you do not have a good state of mind, you definitely cannot run your business better,” Kekihembo said, noting that many women face emotional and psychological burdens that undermine their potential.
“While we want to see women thrive in business, we must also pay attention to the mental signs that can deter their growth,” added Kekihembo.
Explaining the roots of the problem, Dr Raymond Mugume, a psychiatrist at TMR Hospital, said mental health challenges among women entrepreneurs cannot be understood solely through business stress.
He noted that Uganda’s patriarchal social structures place multiple expectations on women – to bear children, care for families, and manage household responsibilities that collide with the pressures of running a business.
“Since we are in a patriarchal society, everything falls back on women. If a child doesn’t turn out well, it is a woman’s fault; if the family doesn’t work out, it is the woman’s fault,” Mugume explained.
“So, you can see that there are already things on their [women’s] plate, and when they start a business, they have these already unsaid struggles that they are going through, yet they have to put their best foot forward and make the business work. Of course, this comes with a lot of stress and pressure.”
For Betty Ndagire Wambi, an entrepreneur from Muyettis Company, which produces avocado powder, the struggle is personal. She said she chose to run my business from home so that she could care for her children, saying juggling both roles is at times stressful.
Kekihembo said that beyond social expectations, women also face systemic barriers, particularly in accessing financial services such as loans.
“Women’s challenges in business are unique,” she said. “Men are stressing women when doing business. For instance, starting from getting a loan, women always require permission from their husbands. That’s a very painful venture, and we want to take it up to parliament. We want to be independent.”
Doreen Akampurira Matsiko, who heads the ICT cluster at UWEAL, echoed these sentiments, saying that gender bias continues to disadvantage women entrepreneurs.
“Stress is real for women in business…” she said. “You bid with men, and the fact that you are a woman, you cannot go through it because you are a woman. When it comes to accessing loans. It is very hard for a woman to access a loan. In many cases you have to go through your husband, and sometimes you are denied a loan because you are a woman, thinking you are not capable. Such things affect women’s mental health.”
To address some of these challenges, UWEAL has launched a fundraising drive to build a Women Entrepreneurs Incubation Centre in Namanve. According to Elizabeth Kasenene, UWEAL’s board chairperson, the association needs Shs 13 billion to establish what would be the first facility of its kind in Uganda.
The centre will support startups and established enterprises with mentorship, workspace, and tools to enhance competitiveness. It will focus on six key value chains: agribusiness, textiles, metal works, cosmetics, ICT, and services, which attract the largest number of women entrepreneurs.
The Month of the Woman Entrepreneur (MoWE) is celebrated annually to promote and empower women in business across Uganda. This year’s edition features a market exhibition, capacity-building sessions, and discussions on the Grow Project, alongside dialogues on women’s mental health and business resilience.
