Of the 130,000 Securities Central Depository accounts (SCD) at the stock market, only about 19% or 25,000 belong to women, according to Paul Bwiso, the CEO of Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). He made the remarks during part of the activities by USE to mark the annual International Organization Securities Commission World Investor Week. “The purpose of today’s meeting was to educate specifically women because we think we should be able to empower them to undertake a lot of decisions in terms of investment,” he said. “Having an investment portfolio and different asset classes away from the traditional, you are able to have a return on investment and have your money work for you, those are some of the benefits that women will get.” The event brought together women in key government agencies and private sector to discuss how to get women to invest at the stock. Just like bank accounts that hold money, SDC holds securities or shares for an individual or company purchased through the stock market. Recently, the exchange announced that it would launch a commodities exchange, a move officials believe will boost activity and pull more Ugandans to the stock. “For issuers to be able to look at women as a special group when it comes to the products that they are actually bringing to market, that will be really amazing,” Miriam Musaali, the director legal and board affairs at Capital Markets Authority (CMA), said. She noted that the regulator would want to see more financial inclusion of women by way of encouraging them to invest in the stock market and other regulated saving schemes in the market. “Let us market capital markets. Encourage friends to invest in companies that are listed in stock exchange. These are practical things,” she said. “Women are not willing to go an extra mile to put our monies there (stock) yet we are willing to put money in bridal showers, which come with spending, yet the men are slow starters but when they get it, they are there deploying the resources.” Keith Kalyegira, the CEO at CMA, said: “Investor education is a powerful tool against fraud, and is a means of improving financial resilience. A smart investor understands that risk exists in all investments and never invests based solely on a celebrity endorsement.” He noted that CMA has taken note of individuals or firms holding out as investment advisers and fund managers, as well as pyramid schemes operating physically and through online platforms, which seek to take cash deposits from unsuspecting members of the public with a promise of exceptional investment returns. He urged Ugandans to always seek investment advice from only licensed firms. “It is, therefore, imperative that before making the decision to invest, one seeks sufficient investment advice from a licensed intermediary,” Kalyegira said.