By Our Reporter
NATIONAL/BUSINESS
In a defining step toward broadening access to inclusive financial services, Pride Bank Limited has launched five purpose driven banking products under its newly acquired Tier II banking license.
The announcement made on 26th June, 2025 signals the institution’s evolution from a microfinance deposit taking entity into a full-fledged commercial bank offering integrated solutions to Uganda’s entrepreneurs, homeowners, and traders.
The Tier II upgrade empowers Pride Bank to expand its operational scope while remaining true to its founding commitment of financial inclusion.
The bank’s new offerings were informed by an extensive consultative process that engaged thousands of clients from smallholder farmers to urban SMEs, to uncover the pain points and aspirations shaping Uganda’s financial landscape.
The newly unveiled suite includes the SME Corporate Loan, Home Improvement Loan, Mortgage Loan, Trade Finance services, and a Forex Savings Account, each crafted to address a specific market gap. These products have been designed to deliver a unique blend of simplicity, affordability, and measurable impact.
“Our SME Corporate Loan responds directly to the capital challenges faced by small and medium enterprises,” said Mr. Joseph Fetaa, Head of Business. “It offers tiered credit lines, tailored repayment structures, and embedded advisory, supported by a fully digitized application system and relaxed collateral thresholds to foster wider accessibility.”
Mr. Fetaa highlights that for clients aiming to improve their homes, the Home Improvement Loan offers flexible financing with tenors of up to five years and competitive interest rates. “A dignified living environment is essential to family wellbeing and social cohesion. We’ve made this product accessible to both salaried professionals and self-employed homeowners.”
Other products launched the Mortgage Loan, a long-term financing tool with adjustable-rate options, legal advisory, and dedicated client support to help customers navigate homeownership confidently. Customers vested in trade will enjoy the benefits of Pride’s Trade Finance suite that covers letters of credit, performance guarantees, and invoice discounting which is intended to solve the working capital needs of exporters and importers seeking to expand across borders with reduced risk.
In response to growing demand for currency diversification, Pride Bank’s new Forex Savings Account enables clients to hold funds in USD, EUR, or GBP, earn competitive interest, and convert balances to UGX instantly through the bank’s upgraded mobile platform. The account targets diaspora clients, international contractors, and those seeking to preserve the value of foreign currency inflows.
Ms. Veronicah Gladys Namagembe, Pride’s Managing Director urges that all offerings are supported by a strengthened digital infrastructure and a 47-branch nationwide network, reinforcing the bank’s customer care model rooted in clarity, operational efficiency and positive impact to customers “I strongly believe that with these new products and more that are yet to come, the Bank is strongly positioned to support the government’s ATMS strategy of Agro-industrialization, Tourism development, Mineral development including oil and gas and Science, Technology and Innovation which are key in propelling Uganda to an upper middle-income country. Pride is grateful to Bank of Uganda for the regulatory guidance, the clients and staff whose continued support has inspired the institution’s transformation” said Ms. Namagembe. “Together, we bank with pride and build the future.”
