KAMPALA — The Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) has used Uganda’s inaugural National Cleaning Day to highlight the connection between a healthy environment and economic empowerment, joining Emyooga beneficiaries to clean Usafi Market in Kampala.
MSC officials and traders under the Emyooga programme participated in the nationwide sanitation exercise on Saturday, July 25, 2026, arguing that clean communities create better conditions for businesses to thrive and improve livelihoods.
The National Cleaning Day, launched by Vice President Jessica Alupo on behalf of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in Kiti Zone, Kisenyi III Parish, Kampala, requires Ugandans to participate in cleaning activities on the last Saturday of every month.
The exercise involved sweeping streets, clearing drainage channels, collecting waste and cleaning public spaces from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
For MSC, the activity was an extension of its mandate of promoting wealth creation through financial inclusion, particularly among beneficiaries of the government’s Presidential Initiative on Wealth and Job Creation (Emyooga).
Speaking during the exercise at Usafi Market, Tadeo Atuhura, Head Communications, MSC, said economic transformation must go hand-in-hand with healthy living environments.
“At MSC, we champion wealth creation and work to transform livelihoods. We ensure that communities can access affordable credit, receive capacity building, and work together through groups and SACCOs to achieve socio-economic transformation,” Atuhura said.
He said MSC supports communities to create jobs, improve household incomes, establish enterprises and build sustainable livelihoods through organised groups across the country.
“You cannot create wealth if you are not healthy. We believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body are essential for people to create wealth and improve their lives,” he said.
Atuhura explained that a clean environment enables beneficiaries to focus on productive activities and grow their businesses. He added that MSC would continue supporting the National Cleaning Day initiative through its network of beneficiaries.
“The Microfinance Support Centre is committed to participating every month, as the National Cleaning Day has been officially gazetted. We shall continue joining communities in cleaning exercises across the country,” Atuhura said.
Emyooga Beneficiaries Credit Programme for Business Growth
The cleaning exercise brought together traders from Usafi Market, including members of the Usafi Market South Retail and Kitchen Zone B Emyooga SACCO.
The SACCO’s Chairperson, Peter Kivumbi, thanked President Museveni for supporting traders through the Emyooga programme, saying the initiative had helped members strengthen their businesses.
“We appreciate His Excellency President Museveni for supporting this massive exercise,” Kivumbi said.
He said the traders were grateful for the seed capital provided through Emyooga, which had enabled them to improve their enterprises.
“President Museveni gave us seed capital through the Emyooga initiative. We are very appreciative because our businesses are now functioning, we are earning reasonable incomes, and we are grateful for that support,” he said.
Kivumbi said improved livelihoods also come with a responsibility to maintain clean workplaces.
“Now that we have received this capital and improved our businesses, we must also carry out other important activities, including keeping our workplaces clean. We want to clean our surroundings, including areas such as the market roofs and other spaces where we operate,” he said.
He encouraged Ugandans to take personal responsibility for sanitation. “Let us clean our country. Let us keep our workplaces and homes clean so that we can continue to grow, live healthier lives, and earn incomes in a clean environment,” Kivumbi said.
Women Traders Highlight Emyooga Impact
Nakiwala Nnalongo, a trader at Usafi Market and member of the Emyooga SACCO, said the programme had helped many women move from economic hardship to greater financial independence.
She thanked President Museveni for introducing both the Emyooga initiative and the National Cleaning Day programme, saying they had improved the lives of ordinary Ugandans.
“Emyooga has helped uplift women from poverty. We have been able to do businesses and develop ourselves. We can now pay school fees for our children and look after ourselves,” Nakiwala said.
She said many women who previously struggled financially were now able to improve their standards of living through access to capital. “We were very poor, but now we have developed because of Emyooga,” she said.
Nakiwala also encouraged traders to maintain clean surroundings, saying good sanitation was important for healthy communities and successful businesses. “We encourage people to stay healthy by cleaning their environment and ensuring good sanitation,” she said.
She also appreciated the government for providing Usafi Market, saying the facility had improved trading conditions and livelihoods for many vendors.
MSC’s Wealth Creation Mandate
The Microfinance Support Centre is a government agency that provides affordable financial services, capacity building and support to organised groups involved in enterprise development.
Through the Emyooga programme, launched by President Museveni in 2019, government provides seed capital to economically active Ugandans organised under different enterprise categories.
The programme targets groups including women entrepreneurs, youth, boda boda operators, market vendors, taxi operators, mechanics, welders, tailors, persons with disabilities, fishermen, performing artists and other livelihood groups.
MSC says the initiative is aimed at increasing access to finance, promoting job creation and supporting Uganda’s broader goal of socio-economic transformation.
As the National Cleaning Day continues monthly, MSC says it will encourage Emyooga beneficiaries across the country to combine enterprise growth with healthy and clean communities.
