FOR female entrepreneurs in Uganda the business climate is a harsh one, as bank interest rates for them are prohibitively high.

Bank loans are based on land ownership and, with 90% of men owning land, accessing finance is tough.

But, against the odds, Ugandan women are forging ahead with pioneering business ideas, and Glasgow documentary maker Carol Cooke has been filming the efforts of a group who were nominated for Female Entrepreneur of the Year.

Carol, 30, from Cowcaddens, said: "This is a country where just over half of the female labour force receive no wage for their work, where 40% of businesses are owned by women, and yet just 7% of all credit is allocated to them.

"Women are the unsung heroes of Uganda's economy.

"The women in Uganda put businesswomen like me in the UK to shame. Learning about their lives was a privilege, as was having the chance to film them.

"They are all truly extraordinary women."

Carol's documentary, Barefoot in Business had its UK premiere at a screening hosted by the Scottish Parliament, which was attended by the stars of the film, and next month it will have its American premiere in Washington.

GRACE BYEITIMA, 35

Raised by a single mother, and a single mother herself, Grace takes inspiration from the generation above and below her. As the oldest daughter she took responsibility for helping in the household and did not progress with her education.

However, her mother taught her from a young age to sew, and it was a talent that Grace developed when, on leaving school, her mother found her an apprenticeship with a tailor.

She said: "If you leave school and go to sew you are seen as a failure. If someone sees you hunched over a machine it is shameful. But I did a business course and that taught me to have confidence. I began to think, 'I can run my own business, I can do this'.

In 2009 she set up Mbabazi House of Style and now caters for the likes of the Belgian ambassador.

Not only does she design and make her own clothes, she does interior design. Grace employs 12 people, including her mother, and takes on young apprentices.

"My mother is my inspiration. I don't want this to sound bad but she had opportunities and did not take them.

"She says, 'I don't know where you get your courage from', but I focus on her mistakes and I take every opportunity that is on offer to me.

"I want to be an inspiration to my daughter too. That is my driving force.

"I had nothing and now I am the head of my household. I want to encourage other young women to take control of their situation and have the self-esteem to succeed."

BENEDICTA NANYONGA, 66

Benedicta's introduction to business was slightly unusual - she said the idea came to her in a dream.

The 66-year-old had worked in banking for 23 years while raising her six children. After leaving her job she was dependent on them for support, and that wasn't a feeling she enjoyed.

One night, she said, she had a dream in which she was told to collect plastic straws. At the same time, people in the slum area where she lives were being urged to pick up litter and, while out working, Benedicta spotted a pile of used straws.

Despite her neighbour's scepticism, Benedicta collected the straws and spent 300 Ugandan shillings on cleaning products and 200 on glue. She transformed the straws into a mat, which was bought for 7000 shillings.

"When I sold my mat I told myself, 'This is your job now.' I had no training but I had a profit and I set up my business making mats, bags, jewellery, all sorts of things. People had never seen a product like this before.

"They said to me, 'Benedicta, how did you come to this idea?' and I told them it was sent to me in a dream, this is my belief.'

Now she employs 40 people in her company, Kinawataka Straw Bags. She is also involved in the award-winning Kinawataka Women Initiatives, which trains women to use locally sourced materials to make goods for sale and provides a refuge for orphans with HIV/AIDS.

Benedicta is seeking investment to buy a machine that will press the straws, saving her workers from the intense manual labour needed to fill orders that come from Australia, Italy and America.

The women's initiative has 10 acres of land and the hope now is to build a training centre. On a neighbouring plot, Benedicta wants to build a head quarters and a new orphanage to house 150 children.

SANTA JOYCE LAKER

Joyce comes from northern Uganda, an area ravaged by civil war. She is modest about her education, but has spent her time completing further education courses and is vice-chairwoman of Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association (UWEA).

She also runs a farm and uses her experience of living in displacement camps to help other women who have been traumatised by war.

"My background is so humble and my education is so humble. I had only a diploma from school but I have travelled far and near.

"I am a product of rape, I am a product of domestic violence. I used to hate men. The UN tells us women provide 70% of our GDP, but we are left to do the donkey work by our menfolk.

"Networking is very important - I seek to find women who can hold hands with other women. It is important to ask 'Who is doing what where?' and connect these women together.

"I use music. In the north certain songs mean war is coming. When you hear singing and certain music, it is the expression of anger and you know that if the anger is not diffused then war will come.

"When I was in the camps we learned bead making. I would start up certain songs and sometimes a woman would cry - perhaps her son had not come home, he had gone to war. I would wait and then speak to her, ask about why she was crying.

"I am no counsellor, so I would find out the problem and then network this woman with someone who can help her. This is what I do with the women who work for me.

"In the civil war my grandmother was blown up by a landmine. I had two choices: I could stay or I could leave and make a difference with my life. So I left."