Search Results for: SACCO

The Citizen, a Tanzanian newspaper, has reported on the performance of the Youth Self Employment Foundation (Yosefo), a microfinance institution(MFI) in Tanzania that has now been in existence for twelve years [1,2]. In this time period, Yosefo has loaned Sh11.6 billion, the equivalent of over USD 8.7 million, to 28,000 borrowers, according to the Citizen’s report on comments from Altemius Millinga, Executive Director of Yosefo [1].

Source: East African Standard.

For discussion of this topic click here: http://microfinanceassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/rural-microfinance

Centenary Bank of Uganda, a commercial bank with a focus on rural microfinance, has announced that it will increase its loans to farmers, further increasing its agricultural lending [1, 2]. The loans will enable farmers to buy tractors and other machinery up to a maximum of UGX 200 million (USD 95,000) [1]. Farmers owning 100 acres of land will be targeted. Recently the government declared in its 2009-10 budget that a UGX 30 billion (USD 14.2 million) loan guarantee will be made available to banks that extend loans to the agricultural sector this financial year [1]. The government believes this investment will help Uganda recover from the global recession as the agricultural sector employs 85 percent of the labor force. Centenary Bank will also seek to access part of the UGX 88 billion (EUR 30 million) credit facility that the European Investment Bank (EIB) is extending to several Ugandan commercial banks [1].  

According to a 2008 annual report, the CRDB Microfinance Services Company (CRDB MF) made an annual profit, before taxes, of USD 192,000. CRDB MF also reports the amount of loans disbursed throughout the year as USD 36.6 million and the outstanding loan portfolio as USD 44.1 million. CRDB MF does not directly lend to clients, but works with Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS), Savings and Credit Associations (SACAS), financial non-government organizations (NGOs), and Community Banks to disburse loans, provide technical support, and facilitate bank accounts. In 2008, 31 MFIs joined CRDB MF bringing the total of partner organizations to 376. Cumulatively, the MFIs operate in 109 districts and serve 489,030 clients. CRDB MF, founded in 2004, is the microfinance division of CRDB Bank, a private commercial bank founded in 1996 in Tanzania. CRDB Bank’s largest individual stakeholder is the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), which owns 30 percent of the bank. Private individuals own 37 percent of the bank. MicroCapital has previously reported on CRDB Bank’s USD 52 million loan to the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), a government company.  

The Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA) has entered a dispute with members who claim that only collectives of individual cooperatives can join the UCA. The disgruntled member collective societies claim that the UCA is accepting and favoring newer individual cooperatives rather than manage the existing collectives. The collective societies have submitted a business plan to the government to claim the USD 16 million allotted to the UCA for building the infrastructure of cooperative societies. A representative of the collectives and chairman of the Uganda National and District Unions Association, Erisa Ngereza, comments, “We want this money as a loan, while Uganda Cooperative Alliance wants it as a grant.” The UCA has criticized the ineffectiveness and corruption of the older collectives, seemingly preferring to move forward with fresher projects. The State Minister for Micro Finance, Caleb Akandwanaho, advised both parties, “If you do not end the wrangles, no financier nor government would give you money. We need to see willingness in organizing yourselves more than when you are presenting proposals and demands.” The UCA, founded in 1961, works with many types of cooperatives in areas of agriculture, manufacturing, and microfinance through Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs).

Source: Daily Nation

Unitus, an international non-profit organization, has opened the Africa Microfinance Growth Center, a non-profit program developed in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSDK), to help CEOs and senior managers of early-stage microfinance organizations (MFIs) improve strategy, leadership, and execution in order to grow their organizations and expand microfinance services in East Africa.  In addition to assistance from FSDK, financial support is also being provided by Omidyar Network, The Boeing Company, and SV2: Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund.  No information as to the amounts provided by these companies or the overall budget of the Center was available at the time of this release.

Malawi Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, an executive branch agency responsible for the country’s legal sector, reported that work to complete customization of the Microfinance and Financial Cooperatives bills is close to an end. This progress is further confirmed by Anthony Kamanga, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, who mentioned in an interview that there was solid progress. However, Mr. Kamanga cautioned that efforts could be hampered by parliamentary processes, and added that, “the problem we always face to ensure that these draft bills see the light of the (sic) day has been working with parliament; we cannot dictate things to them…and waiting for them always leads into unnecessary delays.”

Source: Daily Nation.

Source: New Vision (Uganda).