Latest Updates

At the Credit Data, Referencing & Innovation Symposium, our Presentation-Led Panel on Cross-Border Data Sharing and Alternative Data for Financial Inclusion delivered one of the most urgent and future-shaping conversations of the day especially for Uganda as the world’s largest refugee-hosting country after Türkiye.

We were honored to have Ms. Rashmi Pillai (IFC – International Finance Corporation) present groundbreaking research exploring how credit information for refugees can move across borders between Uganda and the DRC and South Sudan enabling continuity of credit histories and unlocking access to finance for forcibly displaced persons and the host communities they live alongside.

Following the presentation, a high-impact panel moderated by Mr. Fred Zake (IFC) sparked a rich dialogue featuring:
➡️ AGNES MUKANDEKEZI (OPPORTUNITY BANK UGANDA LTD)
➡️ Nelson Mugisha Mulera,CIM (Equity Bank Uganda)
➡️ Shafi Nambobi (UGAFODE Microfinance Limited (MDI))
➡️ Evelyn Katuutu (CRBA)
Together, they shared real-world evidence dismantling the long-held myth that refugees are high-risk borrowers. Performance far exceeds assumptions with some of the lowest NPL ratios in their portfolios and strong adoption of mainstream financial products. Refugees are entrepreneurs, mothers, traders, employees, innovators and they repay.

The discussion reinforced that inclusion must be commercial, sustainable and ecosystem-driven not dependent on donor cycles. It requires improved identity verification, integrated data, tailored credit models such as solidarity lending and VSLA-linked financing, strengthened alternative data pipelines, and most importantly equal access for both refugees and their host communities to maintain social cohesion.

As we look ahead, the message from this panel was unmistakable:
👉🏽 Financial inclusion for refugees is not just the right thing to do, it is bankable, scalable and transformative for the economy.
Uganda has an opportunity to lead the region in setting standards for cross-border credit portability and refugee-focused data innovation unlocking dignity, opportunity, and investment where it is most needed.