Uganda Media Women's Association

What Uganda Media Women's Association does

Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA) is a Kampala-headquartered, Ugandan-registered voluntary non-governmental umbrella organization founded in 1983 by 48 female journalists. Its core mission is to advance gender equality in Ugandan media through capacity building, advocacy, research and direct content production. UMWA's principal product is Mama FM 101.7 — Uganda's first community radio station dedicated to women's voices, established August 24, 2001, and recognized as the first women-focused community radio in Africa and the second globally. The station broadcasts from a 60-meter owned mast in Kisaasi, Kampala at 1000 watts, covering approximately 150 kilometers and reaching an estimated 2 million listeners across Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono, Mpigi, Gomba, Mityana and Jinja districts. Programming is 90% Luganda and 10% English, with editorial focus on business, human rights, edutainment, youth, children, politics, sports and persons with disabilities.

UMWA supplements Mama FM with a portfolio of complementary products and programs: The Other Voice e-paper (launched July 2023), the Annual Gender Media Awards, the Women and Media Symposium, gender media monitoring research, membership services for female journalists and women in information management, and capacity-building trainings on gender-responsive reporting and journalist safety/security. The organization's go-to-market is community-led: it operates training programs in seven districts (Masaka, Tororo, Kitgum, Kampala, Masindi, Hoima, Mbarara) and engages with policy actors including government, media houses and development partners.

UMWA's business model is grant-funded rather than commercial. Revenue derives from donor contributions and grants from international development partners (UNESCO, UN Women, Royal Danish Embassy, Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives, Norwegian Government, Ford Foundation, DANIDA, DGF, Missio Austria, WACC, Pollicy and others), supplemented by voluntary membership contributions from female journalists. Operating costs include monthly electricity (reduced from 2.8 million to 1 million Ugandan shillings after a Missio Austria solar installation) and annual broadcasting license fees of UGX 10 million. The organization employs 23 staff and is led by Executive Director Margaret B. Sentamu and Board Chair Dr. Patricia Litho.

Name

Uganda Media Women's Association

Legal name

Uganda Media Women's Association

Website

https://umwamamafm.co.ug

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA) is a 1983-founded Ugandan NGO operating Mama FM 101.7 — Africa's first women-focused community radio — and serving female journalists, women politicians, and marginalized communities across Uganda via training, advocacy, and digital publishing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding: UMWA operates as a non-profit NGO primarily funded through grants and support from international development partners including governments and foundations
2. Membership Contributions: Voluntary membership organization for female journalists and women in information management, established 1983 with 48 founding members

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA) operates Mama FM 101.7, a community radio station based in Kampala, publishes The Other Voice online newspaper (e-paper), and runs capacity-building training programs for women journalists. It also produces gender-sensitive media content and monitoring reports on women's representation in Ugandan media.

Product overview

UMWA operates as an NGO media organization with a portfolio of products and services centered on gender equality advocacy through media. The core offerings include Mama 101.7 FM (a women-focused community radio station) and The Other Voice (a digital e-paper publication), complemented by the Annual Gender Media Awards, research and monitoring services, membership programs, and various training initiatives on gender-responsive reporting and journalist safety. These products work together to advance UMWA's mission of promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in Ugandan media.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mama FM 101.7 Community Radio Station

Quantifiable outcome

• Women's visibility in Ugandan media increased from 24% (2020) to 28% (2022)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PollicycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2023Partnered with UMWA on 'The Future of Work: Improving Digital Safety for Women at Work and Combating Gendered Disinformation' project. Conducted needs assessment with 30+ women journalists and provides small grants and training on digital rights and OGBV.
• Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized CrimecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnered with UMWA to empower 150 female journalists with skills to report on organized crimes, focusing on knowledge gaps, safety concerns and intersectional strategies.
• Missio AustriacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2021Provided solar installation reducing electricity costs from 2.8 million to 1 million shillings monthly. Also donated new advanced studio console and transmitter for stable signal transmission.
• Uganda National Commission for UNESCO (UNATCOM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnered with UMWA for safety and security training of female journalists, contributing to promotion of freedom of expression under Article 29 of Uganda Constitution.
• Radio Robin HoodminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner supporting Mama FM through programming grants and exchange programs including Norwegian Peace Corps Exchange Program.
• Farm Radio InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting Mama FM with resources for improved content output to enhance livelihoods of listeners.
• Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner at Women and Media Symposium 2023, committed to addressing digital issues affecting women and digital access equity.
• Nile Breweries Uganda LtdminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner at Women and Media Symposium 2023 organized by UMWA.
• Media Challenge Initiative (MCI)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner at Women and Media Symposium 2023 organized by UMWA.
• New VisionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner at Women and Media Symposium 2023 organized by UMWA.
• Soft Power NewsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner at Women and Media Symposium 2023 organized by UMWA.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gender Links: Southern African organization running the Gender and Media Progress Study across SADC countries. Comparable to UMWA in its gender media monitoring work and use of GMMP findings to advocate for women's visibility, though focused on southern Africa rather than East Africa.
• Farm Radio International: Canadian NGO that partners with UMWA and supports African rural radio stations with resources for improved content. Both organizations focus on community radio broadcasting as a development tool in Africa, share similar donor ecosystems, and target marginalized rural audiences through vernacular programming.
• International Women's Media Foundation: Global organization supporting women journalists through training, safety programs, and advocacy — closely mirroring UMWA's core mission of training female journalists and addressing gender inequality in media. Both provide safety/security training and emergency support to women in journalism.

Broad incumbents

• Free Press Unlimited: Dutch NGO supporting independent journalism and press freedom globally, including in Uganda. Comparable mission to UMWA's press freedom advocacy (including its NMG Uganda response), but with broader geographic scope and larger programmatic footprint.
• Internews: Global media development NGO operating across 30+ countries with significantly larger budget and reach than UMWA. Both work to strengthen independent media and support journalists in developing countries, though Internews operates at much greater scale across multiple regions and thematic areas.
• Article 19: International human rights organization that defends freedom of expression and information, including press freedom advocacy in Uganda. Article 19's work on media rights and journalist safety overlaps with UMWA's Mission 2025 program for safe working environments for female journalists.

Others

• World Association for Christian Communication (WACC): Global communication rights organization that is an existing UMWA partner providing programming grants and skills strengthening. WACC's Communication for All program aligns with UMWA's mission to amplify marginalized voices through media development.

Emerging players

• African Women in Media (AWiM): Pan-African organization supporting women in media across the continent. Comparable to UMWA's mission of advancing women journalists but operating at a continental rather than national scale, providing networking, training, and research for African women in media.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/umwaandmamafm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/UMWAMamaFM
• Facebookfacebook.com/ugumwa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uganda-media-women's-association
• Instagraminstagram.com/UMWAMamaFM

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Uganda Media Women's Association