The government of Uganda has released more money towards its household poverty alleviation initiative, the Parish Development Model (PDM). This was confirmed by PostBank Uganda, the gov’t distribution partner of the cash to the final recipients through its mobile wallet platform, Wendi.
The amount totalling up to UGX 267 Billion was disbursed among 5,322 government-identified and vetted SACCOs country-wide with each earmarked to receive UGX50M.
“We received the latest batch of money from the government on Tuesday, 09th April, to distribute to over 5,000 SACCOs around the country covering over 100 districts. We completed the disbursement to all the SACCOs the following day (10th April 2024),” said the PostBank Head of Agency Banking George William Kiyingi.
Kiyingi further revealed that the cash-disbursement process leveraged the Wendi platform for quick allocations countrywide.
“The money has already been deposited in the Wendi accounts of the respective SACCOs. The SACCOs need to advise the bank of the authorised approvers as filed at the Registrar of Cooperatives.” he elaborated.
PostBank was identified as a key player in the distribution of the PDM cash to recipients countrywide. This begged for a fast and effective e-platform to complement the brick-and-mortar bank branch network, as the latter would present operational shortcomings.
PostBank developed Wendi to boost financial inclusion and since its commissioning, Wendi has enrolled over 500,000 beneficiaries and paid over UGX200 billion, serving over 5000 SACCOs who are all beneficiaries of the gov’t of Uganda PDM program.
The Wendi platform was also used to pay beneficiaries of the relocation exercise for households facing a high risk of landslides in the Elgon sub-region. The exercise, launched last week in Bududa by Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja disbursed cash amounting to UGX 2.76Bn to 276 households, with each household receiving UGX 10M. All payments were done in 5 minutes from initiation to money reaching the beneficiaries.
Mr. Kiyingi reiterated the bank’s purpose of fostering prosperity for Ugandans. This is being achieved through the bank’s target segments of Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises especially those in agro-business.
About Wendi by PostBank.
Wendi by PostBank is a mobile wallet developed by PostBank to promote financial inclusion among the unbanked. In partnership with MTN, Airtel and partner banks, Wendi is facilitating saving options, SACCO administration as well as government payments to both individuals and groups.
Wendi by PostBank is licensed by Bank of Uganda and is accessible for download from Google Play Store, AppStore and onboarding via a *229# USSD code.
Wendi offers a wide range of mobile transactions, including paying for utility bills such as Umeme, URA, NWSC, TV subscriptions, school fees, goods, and services among others. Customers of Wendi enjoy easy access courtesy of over 3,000 Wendi agents stationed countrywide.