Yako Bank Uganda Limited

Yako Bank Uganda Limited, commonly known as Yako Bank, is a privately owned Ugandan financial institution licensed by the Bank of Uganda as a Tier II credit institution. Its headquarters and main branch are located at Forest Mall on Lugogo Bypass Road in Kampala, with additional branches reported on Parliament Avenue in Kampala, on Main Street in Jinja, and in Kampala’s 6th Street Industrial Area. The bank operates in Uganda and is one of the country’s smaller licensed credit institutions. The business was incorporated in 2010 and entered the deposit-taking microfinance market in September 2015 under the name Yako Microfinance Uganda Limited. In 2020, it obtained a Tier II credit institution licence from the Bank of Uganda and adopted the Yako Bank Uganda Limited name. The licence permits the institution to accept savings deposits and extend credit, including collateralized and non-collateralized loans. Unlike a commercial bank, its licence does not authorize the operation of checking accounts, and the institution is not permitted to conduct foreign-exchange business. Yako Bank’s operating model is therefore centered on savings products and credit rather than the full range of services associated with larger commercial banks. Its lending can be provided to customers who maintain savings accounts with the institution as well as to borrowers without such accounts, subject to the bank’s lending requirements. Publicly available descriptions characterize the institution as serving the Ugandan market through a relatively small branch network. In 2021, Yako Bank participated in a financing initiative connected with the Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator, or UGEFA. The programme was designed to create a pipeline for approximately US$6.1 million in funding for more than 200 businesses trained by UGEFA and operating in the green economy over the following two years. UGEFA was funded by the European Union, while Yako Bank was one of the Ugandan financial institutions participating in the initiative. Available information does not establish a broader international footprint, public listing, parent banking group, controlling individual, or a current executive roster. A 2021 industry comparison reported a cost-to-profit ratio of 16.76 percent for Yako Bank as of 31 December 2021; that figure should be understood as a historical operating measure rather than a current financial result. The institution’s public profile remains that of a locally focused, privately owned credit provider operating under Uganda’s regulated Tier II framework.

Yako Bank Uganda Limited was incorporated in Uganda in 2010. The institution initially developed as a microfinance business and began providing deposit-taking microfinance services in September 2015 under the name Yako Microfinance Uganda Limited. This phase placed the organization within Uganda’s regulated microfinance and savings sector rather than the country’s full commercial-banking segment. A major institutional transition occurred in 2020, when the Bank of Uganda granted the institution a Tier II credit institution licence. Following the licensing change, the business adopted the Yako Bank Uganda Limited name and operated under the regulatory framework applicable to credit institutions. The new status allowed it to accept savings deposits and provide loans, including both collateralized and non-collateralized facilities. Its permitted activities remained narrower than those of a commercial bank: the institution could not offer checking accounts and was prohibited from conducting foreign-exchange business. The bank’s branch presence has been concentrated in Uganda. Its headquarters and main branch are at Forest Mall on Lugogo Bypass Road in Kampala. Publicly reported locations as of June 2024 also included a Parliament Avenue branch in Kampala, a branch on Main Street in Jinja, and a branch in Kampala’s 6th Street Industrial Area. This network indicates a domestic, branch-based operating model rather than an international banking group. In 2021, Yako Bank became one of the Ugandan financial institutions participating in the Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator initiative. The programme was associated with a proposed US$6.1 million funding pipeline for more than 200 businesses trained by UGEFA and active in the green economy during the subsequent two years. The initiative was fully funded by the European Union and gave participating lenders an opportunity to support environmentally oriented enterprises. A published comparison of Ugandan financial institutions reported that Yako Bank’s cost-to-profit ratio was 16.76 percent as of 31 December 2021. The measure was presented in the context of the country’s licensed financial institutions and does not, by itself, provide a complete assessment of profitability or financial condition. Public reference material does not identify a listed parent company, international operations, named founder, or current executive leadership team. As of the latest supplied branch information, Yako Bank remains a locally operating Ugandan Tier II credit institution.

• 2024

  Reported branch network

  [1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  As of June, publicly reported branches included the main Kampala branch, Parliament Avenue, Jinja, and Kampala’s 6th Street Industrial Area.

• 2021

  Participation in UGEFA financing initiative

  [1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Yako Bank joined a financing pipeline intended to support green-economy businesses trained through the Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator.

• 2020

  Tier II credit institution licence and rebrand

  [1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The Bank of Uganda granted the institution a Tier II credit institution licence, after which it adopted the Yako Bank Uganda Limited name.

• 2015

  Deposit-taking microfinance operations begin

  [1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The business began offering deposit-taking microfinance services in September under the name Yako Microfinance Uganda Limited.

• 2010

  Incorporation

  [1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The institution was incorporated in Uganda.

A locally focused, privately owned Ugandan Tier II credit institution specializing in savings and lending services rather than full commercial banking or foreign-exchange operations.

• Deposit products

  Savings accounts

  Yako Bank’s Tier II credit institution licence permits it to accept savings deposits. Savings services form part of the institution’s core deposit-taking and microfinance heritage, although the licence does not authorize checking accounts.

• Lending

  Collateralized loans

  The bank is authorized to provide loans secured by collateral. These facilities are part of its regulated credit-institution offering for customers in Uganda.

• Lending

  Non-collateralized loans

  Yako Bank may also extend loans without collateral, subject to its underwriting and lending requirements. Such credit may be available to customers with or without savings accounts at the institution.

• 2021Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator participation

  Uganda

  Yako Bank participated in the UGEFA financing initiative, which sought to develop a funding pipeline of approximately US$6.1 million for more than 200 UGEFA-trained businesses in the green economy over the following two years.

  Outcome. The available reference confirms participation in the initiative but does not document the final amount disbursed by Yako Bank or the programme’s completed results.

  Source

• 2020

  Transition from microfinance institution to Tier II credit institutionStrategy

  Background

  The institution had operated as a deposit-taking microfinance business under the Yako Microfinance Uganda Limited name since 2015.

  Action taken

  After receiving a Bank of Uganda Tier II credit institution licence, it rebranded as Yako Bank Uganda Limited and continued with a regulated savings-and-lending model.

  Aftermath

  The licence expanded and formalized its credit-institution role while retaining restrictions on checking accounts and foreign-exchange activity.

  Source

• 2024

  Court blocks bankruptcy proceedings involving BMK companies[1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit

  A cited report stated that a court blocked bankruptcy proceedings involving BMK companies. The reference mentions Yako Bank in connection with the broader report, but does not provide enough information to characterize the bank as a party to wrongdoing.

• 2023

  Police shooting reported at Yako Bank premises in Kampala[1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A news report described the fatal shooting of an Indian money lender by a police officer at Yako Bank in Kampala. The available reference does not establish that the incident involved the bank’s corporate conduct or resulted in regulatory action against the institution.

• 2021

  Yako Bank participates in Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator funding pipeline[1]Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  Yako Bank joined a financing initiative associated with UGEFA, intended to support more than 200 green-economy businesses through a proposed funding pipeline of approximately US$6.1 million over two years.

1. 1Yako Bank Uganda Limiteden.wikipedia.org