Sticks, basins and a financing gap: Equity Bank’s Uganda mining push

For many Ugandan miners, the tools of the trade are still sticks and basins. Eight in 10 miners are artisanal workers, according to Christine Mukasa Mugerwa, Equity Bank Uganda’s senior sector head for energy, mining and extractives. Their movement between mining sites and lack of formal paperwork make conventional bank finance difficult to obtain. The bank is targeting that gap with support intended to connect small operators to equipment, financial services and formal markets, according to Nile Post Uganda (direct).

Equity outlined its commitment at the 15th Annual Mineral Wealth Conference and Expo, held at Speke Resort Munyonyo on September 29–30. The gathering attracted more than 1,500 delegates, including government officials, investors, mining companies and lenders. For the bank, the challenge is to reach beyond large mining projects and help smaller operators build businesses that can qualify for financial services.

Making miners bankable

Many artisanal and small-scale miners lack the business structures and financial records that lenders normally require. That makes buying better equipment harder and can leave operators relying on informal finance and middlemen. Mugerwa said Equity is working with miners’ associations and refineries on financial education and asset financing—funding to acquire equipment—including mini-excavators. The aim is to help miners replace basic production methods with safer, more productive operations.

The effort also involves off-takers, the businesses that buy miners’ output. Equity says it is working with industry players such as Wagagai to improve links with formal markets and establish more predictable cash flows and clearer payment arrangements. That approach treats access to buyers and reliable business records as part of the financing problem, rather than viewing a loan alone as the solution.

Helping miners gain safety, dignity and prosperity matters beyond the target for mining’s share of the economy, Mugerwa said.

Uganda wants mining’s contribution to gross domestic product, a measure of economic output, to rise from about 2% to 10%. Equity argues that reaching that ambition requires lenders to support more than major mines. Its strategy also covers equipment suppliers, processors and businesses serving the industry, with the stated aim of spreading mining’s economic benefits to Ugandan enterprises and communities.

Finance meets the processing challenge

The banking push comes alongside government efforts to process more minerals locally and reduce exports of unprocessed material. Jonard Asiimwe, state minister for science, technology and innovation, said the country needs processing capacity to keep more of its mineral wealth at home. He also called for better geological information and a clearer picture of the businesses and activities linking extraction to finished products, to support industrial jobs and the transfer of technology.

Humphrey Asiimwe, chief executive of the Uganda Chamber of Energy and Minerals, pointed to the country’s 58 identified minerals as an investment opportunity, citing developments including the Wagagai Gold Mine. Equity’s strategy sits within its parent group’s Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan, which identifies natural resources and extractive industries as drivers of industrial growth.

The next test is whether those connections between banks, miners and buyers translate into wider access to equipment and formal financial services. For small operators, the shift depends not just on available capital but on the records, payment arrangements and market access that can make their businesses bankable.