LIRA CITY, April 14, 2025 – Emyooga Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations [Emyooga SACCOs] in Northern Uganda, particularly in the Lango and West Nile subregions, have been urged to strengthen their operations and work towards establishing village banks to better serve their members.
The call was made during a recent stakeholder engagement on product certification and SACCO development, organised by the Microfinance Support Centre and held at Good News Hotel in Lira City.
Key institutions represented at the meeting included the Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, and several Emyooga SACCOs from across the region.
Participating SACCOs included: Lira Municipality Tailors’ Emyooga SACCO, Lira Municipality Carpenters’ Emyooga SACCO, Kole North Youth Leaders’ SACCO, and Dokolo North Welders’ SACCO.
Others include Oyam South Market Vendors’ SACCO, Ayivu West Women Entrepreneurs’ SACCO, Nebbi Municipality Women Entrepreneurs’ SACCO, Zombo Local Leaders’ SACCO, and Arua Central Division Market Vendors’ SACCO.
Simon Peter Egirait, Zonal Manager of the Gulu Microfinance Support Centre, noted that many SACCOs have not grown as expected due to stagnant membership numbers.
“SACCOs need to be more innovative and recruit new members. Growth in membership translates into increased savings and financial strength. However, in many cases, the numbers have remained the same since the programme’s inception in 2021,” Egirait said.
He encouraged SACCO leaders to take seriously the vision of forming village banks, as intended under the Emyooga programme.
“When His Excellency launched Emyooga, the goal was to establish village banks. Many Ugandans still rely on money lenders charging exorbitant interest rates – sometimes as high as 60%. In such cases, people risk losing their land or property. We must work hard to become the financial institutions our communities need,” he added.
Grace Abalo, Chairperson of the Moroto Women Entrepreneurs’ SACCO in Alebtong district, echoed this sentiment, urging fellow SACCO members to build stronger, more self-sufficient institutions.
“We face many challenges when accessing loans from commercial banks, such as high interest rates and collateral demands. I encourage both men and women to join hands in growing our SACCOs. With strong savings and lending structures, we can operate as village banks and offer affordable credit to our members,” Abalo said.
Godfrey Adule, Chairperson of the Vura Constituency Produce SACCO in Arua District, highlighted the need for continued training to shift members’ mindsets around saving and loan repayment.
“In Arua, the saving culture is still weak. Many members save very little, and those who borrow often fail to repay their loans, which presents a major challenge to our SACCOs,” he explained.
The Emyooga programme, a presidential initiative on wealth and job creation, was launched on 19 August 2019. It targets 18 categories of Ugandans engaged in specialised trades and sectors, including boda boda riders, taxi drivers, restaurant operators, welders, market vendors, women entrepreneurs, youth leaders, persons with disabilities, journalists, performing artists, carpenters, salon operators, tailors, mechanics, produce dealers, veterans, fishermen, and elected leaders.
The initiative aims to support these groups through savings and credit cooperatives to promote financial inclusion, self-reliance, and local economic development.
https://thecooperator.news/dokolo-emyooga-saccos-assured-of-additional-seed-capital/
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