Kwania women launch SACCO to boost savings and household incomes
KWANIA, September 22, 2026 — Women in Banya Parish, Inomo Subcounty, Kwania district, have launched a Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation [SACCO] to promote a culture of saving and improve household incomes.
The SACCO has 430 members drawn from eight villages in Banya Parish. It was officially launched on Sunday during a ceremony held at Banya Primary School.
As part of the launch, 860 broiler chicks worth Shs 2.15 million were distributed to members to help them generate income and grow their savings.
Florence Akullu, the SACCO Chairperson, said the initiative would promote financial inclusion and improve the livelihoods of women in the parish.
“We decided to form this SACCO to boost our household incomes. As women, we have many responsibilities, including paying school fees and providing food for our families. We can meet these responsibilities better when we work through a SACCO instead of relying on men,” she said.
Members urged to embrace hard work and saving
Doi Fred, an agriculturalist and chairperson of the Uganda Chambers of Commerce in Lira City, urged members to embrace hard work and develop a strong saving culture to strengthen the SACCO.
“This is the first SACCO of its kind in Kwania. It is easy to start a SACCO, but keeping it alive requires hard work, making money and saving it. You have now ventured into a real business, so every household must save and build its individual account,” he said.
Doi said the SACCO would also require financial literacy training to build members’ capacity.
“I will liaise with the district commercial department and other experts to ensure that you receive the skills required to develop this SACCO,” he said.
Members cautioned against politicising SACCO
James Okol, the Kwania district LCV Vice-chairperson, cautioned members against politicising the SACCO.
Okol pledged to support members in accessing government programmes, including the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme [UWEP] and the GROW project.
“Political, religious and other differences should be secondary because poverty does not discriminate. We should put our differences aside and focus on eradicating our biggest enemy—poverty. If we fight poverty, we shall educate our children better and significantly improve our lives,” he said.
He added that the district leadership would ensure that members benefit from relevant government programmes.
Members urged not to rely solely on government programmes
Former Kwania North County Member of Parliament Bob Okae urged members to work hard and build the SACCO instead of relying solely on government programmes.
“You should open your eyes and know that fighting poverty begins with you before you look to the government. Many people have become lazy and refused to work. You need to wake up and get to work instead of relying on government programmes,” he said.
Okae also asked the Government to regulate the prices of seeds and farm produce and protect farmers from exploitation by middlemen to improve their livelihoods.
Kenny Auma, the Kwania District Woman Member of Parliament, encouraged SACCO members to improve their saving culture and work towards financial independence rather than relying on men.
The two legislators donated Shs 2.5 million to boost the SACCO’s savings. Okae contributed Shs1 million, while Auma donated Shs 1.5 million.
Kwania district currently has 49 Parish Development Model [PDM] SACCOs and 36 Emyooga SACCOs organised under various occupational clusters.
The district has a total of 103 cooperative societies, including agricultural and community-based societies. According to data from the district commercial department, about 60 percent of them are actively operational.
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