FSD Uganda grants Mushanga SACCO Shs 6.2bln for vulnerable groups
SHEEMA, April 8, 2025 – Mushanga Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited or Mushanga SACCO has received a grant of Shs 6.2 billion from Financial Sector Deepening Uganda [FSD] to enable women, people with disabilities [PWDs], and refugees to access quick financial support.
FSD is an independent, not-for-profit company focused on supporting low-income individuals, particularly women, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises [MSMEs].
This was announced to over 500 delegates on Saturday during the 43rd Annual General Meeting [AGM] held at the Mushanga Social Training Centre in Sheema Municipality.
According to the SACCO’s General Manager, Gorden Nankunda, this grant is the second that FSD Uganda has extended to the cooperative society, following a successful first grant used to build the capacity of the board and staff to recover loans after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Mushanga SACCO was selected to participate in the pilot credit scoring project by Financial Sector Deepening Uganda [FSD], and we were granted US$ 50,000 to help us run the project successfully,” Nankunda explained.
Gilvazio Bafaki, the Board Chairman, confirmed that the latest grant will support women aged 18-35 years, PWDs, and refugees to boost their businesses. According to the grant’s terms, the funds are designated for 300 non-members of the SACCO.
“Due to the effective utilisation of the first funds, Financial Sector Deepening Uganda has offered us another onward lending grant worth Shs 6.23 billion. This will be lent to women aged 18-35 years, people with disabilities, and refugees, in the proportions of 7 percent, 2 percent, and 5 percent, respectively,” Bafaki said.
Edward Ssenkindu, the Intervention Manager at FSD Uganda, noted that the funds are intended to support vulnerable groups who lack access to collateral required by commercial banks. Specifically, the support aims to include youth who have previously been excluded from participating in the financial sector.
“As FSD, we act as market facilitators to bridge the gap where young people have not had access to finance. In this case, most of the young people in this region are not members of Mushanga SACCO, which is why we have injected this second grant. We want the SACCO to help the youth develop,” Ssenkindu explained.
Meanwhile, Nankunda mentioned that the SACCO’s performance has been affected by loan defaults and delayed repayments, but he added that they would now utilise the services of the Credit Reference Bureau [CRB] to make more informed credit decisions.
“During this AGM, the biggest challenge we have faced is poor loan repayment by some of our members, and we have exhausted all necessary avenues and strategies this year to ensure all loans are repaid on time. To address this challenge, we are going to embrace the Credit Reference Bureau to assess the indebtedness of SACCO members and make informed credit decisions. For instance, if a member has a debt with another SACCO or bank, a CRB report will help us to know,” he said.
Background
Mushanga SACCO was established in 1969 and registered as a cooperative society in 1981. The SACCO operates 15 branches and outreaches and serves a total of 57,248 members. It has a total share capital of Shs 14.90 billion, a gross loan portfolio of Shs 60.91 billion, total savings of Shs 32.23 billion, total assets of Shs 74.13 billion, and a net surplus of Shs 1.89 billion, which is a decrease compared to Shs 3.08 billion in 2023. The SACCO employs a total of 146 staff.
https://thecooperator.news/fsd-uganda-boss-urges-sacco-members-to-pay-loans-in-time/
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