Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Housing Finance Bank has taken its banking and housing finance services closer to communities, engaging more than 100 residents and business owners in Kira Municipality on financing options for homeownership, property investment and business expansion.
The engagement, conducted under the bank’s *HFB in Your Neighbourhood* initiative, brought together participants from Kira, Nsasa, Mulawa and Bulindo, giving them an opportunity to learn about available financial products without travelling to the bank’s head office or branches.
Lilian Nabisere, a Relationship Manager for Home Loans in the bank’s Mortgage and Consumer Banking department, said the initiative seeks to bridge the information gap between financial institutions and communities that may not be fully aware of available financing options.
“Our mandate is to finance a sustainable future for all, and we want to ensure that the people we serve understand why we exist and how we can support their financial goals,” Nabisere said.
She said the bank was engaging directly with residents to understand their needs and provide information about financing solutions suited to their circumstances.
Nabisere noted that growing communities such as Kira have residents seeking to build homes, invest in rental properties and expand businesses. Some property owners could also leverage the value built up in their existing assets to finance other investments, subject to the bank’s assessment and lending requirements.
“We see people who want to own homes, those who want to build rental properties and business owners who need financing to grow. Some already own property and could use the equity in those assets to pursue other investments,” she said.
One of the products introduced during the engagement was Zimba Mpola Mpola, the bank’s incremental housing loan designed to help customers build their homes in stages, depending on their financial capacity.
Richard Bob Sema, Manager of Incremental Housing Loans, said the product recognises that many people cannot finance the construction of a home at once. It allows eligible customers, including those with irregular incomes, to work towards homeownership in manageable stages, from land acquisition to construction.
David Mukasa, a hardware shop owner in Mulawa who attended the engagement, said learning about the product had helped him understand how he could finance a family home without placing excessive pressure on his business cash flow.
“As someone who runs a small hardware shop here in Mulawa, my income fluctuates month to month,” Mukasa said. “Learning about Zimba Mpola Mpola was a turning point for me. Knowing I can buy land and build my family’s house stage-by-stage without putting overwhelming strain on my daily business cash flow makes owning a home feel achievable.”
The bank also presented its conventional mortgage products for customers seeking to purchase completed homes or finance residential and commercial construction.
Eligible customers can access home purchase financing of up to 80% of a property’s value, subject to the bank’s assessment and applicable lending requirements.
Other options include financing for the acquisition of residential, commercial and agricultural land, as well as equity release facilities through which eligible property owners can seek financing against existing property to support other investments.
Beyond housing finance, the bank introduced residents and business owners to its Kiri Too Easy service, which enables customers to initiate the process of opening a bank account using their mobile phones.
Customers can dial *225*11# and follow the prompts to get started, reducing the need to visit a banking hall at the initial stage.
Sarah Namubiru, a boutique owner in Nsasa, said the service offered a convenient way to begin opening a formal bank account for her business.
“I’ve always wanted to open a formal bank account for my business in Nsasa, but the thought of long lines and paperwork at a branch kept pushing it down my to-do list,” Namubiru said.
“When the team showed us how to start the process right on our phones using the USSD code, I was able to get started on the spot. It really brings convenience right to our doorstep.”
Housing Finance Bank officials said it plans to extend the *HFB in Your Neighbourhood* initiative to other communities, as it seeks to increase awareness of its banking and housing finance products and better understand customers’ financial needs.
The initiative is intended to help more Ugandans explore financing options for homeownership, property investment and business growth while making information about available financial services more accessible to communities.
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