“Growing up, I witnessed the harsh reality of poverty and extreme suffering. I saw children dropping out of school because their parents and caretakers couldn’t afford fees, farmers losing harvests because they lacked access to credit, storage facilities, fluctuating prices, and families forced into endless cycles of debt. These experiences planted a question in me: What if finance wasn’t just about profit, but about dignity, opportunity, and hope?

That’s why I chose to study microfinance as an undergraduate, not as a career path alone, but as a mission. I believe access to small loans, savings, storage facilities, steady and good market prices for the agri-produce and financial education can help transform lives. I’ve seen it happen: with better seeds, with a steady market demand and a far better price for produce can act a bridge out of poverty. But I also know microfinance alone is not enough. True change requires compassion, policy shifts, education, love, and community empowerment. It demands that we look at people not as “beneficiaries” but as partners in shaping their future.

My passion goes beyond numbers and it’s about ending extreme suffering. Poverty is not just a lack of money; it’s a lack of opportunity, choices, and sometimes hope itself and when systems that restore dignity and open doors are created, poverty is not just be fought but a world where everyone earns a chance to thrive is created.”

Paul Kato - Executive Director, Uganda