ENTEBBE, October 16, 2025 – The Windsor Employees Cooperative Savings and Credit Society [Windsor SACCO] has uncovered a powerful tool for growth: regular member education and training.
According to the SACCO’s Manager, Noah Mugoya, member education, training and information – a key cooperative principle, is conducted consistently, and this has significantly contributed to increased membership and savings.
“Each year, we train our members on various topics, especially financial literacy. As a result, we’ve seen a steady increase in new membership. Existing members are also buying more shares and boosting their savings,” Mugoya told this report in a separate interview in Entebbe, Wakiso district.
He noted that the training sessions have enhanced trust in SACCO leadership, prompting more members to invest further in the institution.
“In the five months following last year’s training, we recruited at least 780 new members, far surpassing our target of 100,” he said.
Mugoya added that educating members about their roles has led to an increase in the SACCO’s share capital, rising from Shs 3.5 billion to Shs 3.8bln. The saving portfolio has also grown from Shs 2.3bln to Shs 2.5bln over the same period.
Member education, education and information is the fifth principle among the internationally recognised Cooperative Principles. However, the manager expressed concern that some members are reluctant to attend training sessions, which contributes to account dormancy.
“Those who attend these sessions often experience positive changes in their financial behaviours. Unfortunately, a large number of our members remain dormant, which affects our operations,” Mugoya said.
Currently, Windsor SACCO has a total membership of 2,600, of whom only 1,000 have active accounts. The remaining 1,600 are considered dormant.
This year’s training focused on helping members understand and appreciate their SACCO, the institution’s operations, and their individual roles and responsibilities as members.
On her part, Ritah Namyalo, Training and Development Manager at the Uganda Cooperative Savings and Credit Union [UCSCU], the apex body of SACCOs in the country, encouraged SACCO members to embrace financial literacy to improve money management and savings.
She warned against relying on loans as a source of income, noting that such behaviour could lead to business failure.
“Never treat a loan as income. You risk collapsing your business, yet the lender expects their money back. A loan is a liability and should only be used to plug gaps in your operations,” Namyalo cautioned.
She also advised Windsor SACCO’s leadership to carry out a customer satisfaction survey to better understand whether members are happy with the services provided.
“Our services should be driven by member needs. If your members are not satisfied, it means you’re not on the right path,” she added.
Peter Othieno, Chairman of the Board, highlighted the cooperative’s long-standing philosophy of encouraging members to save consistently, no matter how small the amount.
“We adopted the concept of the ‘power of small money’. We saw women begin by saving as little as Shs 2,000 a day, and over time, they were able to build thriving businesses and transform their lives,” he said.
He further emphasised that financial literacy has empowered members to save and invest in valuable assets such as land and household property.
Windsor SACCO was founded in 1997 by employees of the Windsor Hotel and was formally registered in 1999 as a fully-fledged cooperative society.
https://thecooperator.news/entebbe-officials-probed-over-failure-to-collect-youth-and-women-loans/
Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country-wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news
-
-
-
-
