Buganda Kingdom and Stanbic Bank Uganda have officially launched Ssemaduuka — a one-stop agricultural business centre designed to deepen credit access for farmer SACCOs and strengthen the coffee value chains across the Kingdom.
Implemented through the Buganda Cultural and Development Foundation (BUCADEF), Ssemaduuka moves into structured economic collaboration. The model connects:
• SACCO mobilisation and governance
• Structured credit assessment
• Input access via Masaza stores
• Aggregation and buyer coordination
• Digital payments through Stanbic One Farm
• Trade finance for export markets
“Instead of financing isolated borrowers, we are financing an ecosystem,” said Tunde Thorpe, Head of Business and Commercial Banking at Stanbic Bank Uganda.
Because sustainable agricultural finance requires visibility of cashflows, structured market linkages, and coordinated risk management. Ssemaduuka provides that structure.
It also advances the Stanbic’s Positive Impact Agenda supporting women (who form over 70% of PEWOSA SACCO membership), strengthening rural enterprises, formalising trade, and building resilience within agricultural communities.
Importantly, the launch comes at a time when Stanbic Bank Uganda marks 35 years of being part of Uganda’s growth story. For three and a half decades, Stanbic has partnered across sectors to expand opportunity and enable enterprise.