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VisionFund Uganda, a Christian Microfinance Institution affiliated to VisionFund International and World Vision International, has appointed Ms. Sarah Yvonne Byabazaire as the Chairperson of its Board of Directors.
Sarah is a seasoned banker with over 10 years of senior and organisational leadership experience in the financial services sector and a wealth of expertise in organisational governance, banking, strategic project planning, and management.
A quality management consultant and presently the Deputy Director of AG Quality Consultants (AGQC), Sarah brings on board, over 12 years of financial services experience gained from working for Barclays Bank (now ABSA), and Stanbic Bank, where she held different Leadership roles in consumer, SME and business banking.
She is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), holds an MBA from the University of South Wales, UK; a Certificate in Entrepreneurship Essentials from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Economics from Makerere University, Kampala.
Sarah takes over board leadership from CPA Constant Othieno Mayende, whose two-year term has ended. He assumed office in 2021. CPA Mayende, however, remains on the board as a member.
Other board members include Christine Kawasiima, Deputy Board Chairperson; Worku Tsega, Shareholder Representative; Jason Evans, Shareholder Representative; Mwesigye Frederick Edward, Member; and Mercy Sande Ainomugisha, Managing Director.
Transparent and transformational leadership
At a handover ceremony held at the Hotel Golden Tulip Canaan, Kampala, CPA Mayende was commended by, the management, the incoming board and the regulator, the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority for his exemplary leadership that has enhanced board effectiveness, improved business performance and above-all widened impact on the lives of over 200,000 children across Uganda.
“In 2021, CPA Constant took a bold step to assume the Board Chairmanship of the VisionFund Uganda Board at the peak of the Covid-19 crisis when the business had almost come to a standstill. However, the Board under his visionary leadership in consultation with our shareholders, VisionFund International and World Vision Uganda, was able to guide Management on how to keep the institution afloat by rethinking our strategy to incorporate the impact of Covid-19 while adopting a new business model that was hinged on digitisation,” observed Ms. Mercy Sande Ainomugisha, the Managing Director.
“Through the Board’s guidance, the institution continued to strengthen its financial position amid the prolonged effects of the pandemic coupled with the recent imported inflation that has had an adverse effect on the business environment” added Ms. Ainomugisha.
“I assume board leadership at a time when the institution has been able to turn around from loss-making to profit-making and thus charged with the duty of sustaining the new profitability position. This is attributed to the stellar leadership of the Board of Directors and the Management of the institution led by the Managing Director, Mercy Sande Ainomugisha,” remarked, Sarah, the incoming board chairperson.
Mr. Worku Tsega, the VisionFund International Regional Operations Director also thanked the board and management of Vision Fund Uganda and its partners, for what he called “deliberate collaboration that has enabled business growth and impact within the institution”.
The Executive Director, Uganda Micro-finance Regulatory Authority (UMRA), Ms. Edith Namugga Tusubira, also commended the shareholders, board and management of Vision Fund Uganda for their transparent and transformational leadership.
“Institutions survive because of leadership that has integrity; leadership that is transparent; leadership that is intentional.; and leadership that shows and does things,” she said, adding:
“I am so happy to hear that the profit-making game of the institution is now on. Thank you so much, the leadership for the dedication, the courage and the hard work. Leadership is drawn from leaders of character. I would like to emphasize that VisionFund, you have done us well; you have done us proud”.
She also lauded the outgoing board, for ensuring continuity by handing over to the incoming board, a new three-year strategic plan.
“Not many leaders who leave, leave a strategy behind. They will simply walk away because they’re not going in good faith,” she said, adding: “Of the 1500 institutions that UMRA regulates, this is the first to show me a board handover. This one attests to special leadership”.
The regulator also lauded the Managing Director for her great leadership.
“Over the years we’ve been licensing and supervising VisionFund Uganda, it has been a compliant institution,” she observed.
Towards a Microfinance Deposit-Taking Institution status by 2025
Sarah takes over the Board at a critical time when VisionFund Uganda has set itself an ambitious target to substantially impact over 300,000 children (up from 200,000 in 2022) in rural and vulnerable communities by 2025.
To achieve this strategic objective, the organization’s 2025 strategy hinges on sustainable growth derived from enhanced customer experience through diversified products and distribution channels, serving more people more conveniently and efficiently via digital channels, as well as leveraging partnerships. At the centre of this ambitious goal is a target to upgrade from a Tier 4 financial institution to a Microfinance Deposit-Taking Institution (MDI) by 2025.
“For us to transform more lives of children, and for us to build sustainable wealth for our people, especially in the areas in which we operate, we will be focusing on transitioning, from a micro-finance institution that only extends loans to our customers, to a microfinance institution that enables our people to save- save for the future, save for the big things, save to be able to reinvest their savings in this economy and to save to improve their well-being as families and the wellbeing of their communities. That’s one of the biggest, things that as a board we’ll be focusing on in the next few years,” she said.
Mr. Richard Rumsey, the World Vision Programme Quality Director, said that the success of VisionFund and that its financial services products was key to creating a more sustainable and lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable people.
“We know that financial sustainability within communities is the route out of poverty. We know it is the means by which people will no longer need the assistance of humanitarians like World Vision and we know that without it, people will remain passive recipients of external aid and we don’t want that to be the case,” he said, adding: “It’s really impressive to see how VisionFund Uganda has moved from a position over the past years, of some challenges, to a position of financial sustainability, not least in the midst of a crisis”.
VisionFund started operations in Uganda in 1996 as MED-NET and later on was incorporated as VisionFund Uganda in 2012. The organization provides relevant financial solutions to peri-urban, rural and vulnerable communities in Uganda with a deliberate focus on women, in line with their mission — “We believe in brighter futures for children, empowering families to create incomes and jobs, unlocking the economic potential for communities to thrive.” As of September 2022, the financial institution was serving over 50,000 clients, 95% of whom are rural-based and 60% women, across its 21 branches. The organization’s services, directly impact over 200,000 children.