How Mbarara City’s Besania SACCO is Redefining Microfinance in Western Uganda
MBARARA CITY, June 15, 2026 — What began nearly three decades ago as a modest faith-driven fellowship aimed at helping struggling Christian families has evolved into one of western Uganda’s most ambitious multi-purpose cooperatives. Today, Besania/Bethany Savings and Credit Cooperative Society [SACCO] Limited, headquartered in Mbarara City, is doing far more than issuing loans and collecting savings.
Through an unconventional model that combines financial services with agro-processing, environmental conservation, healthcare and value addition, the SACCO is positioning itself as a transformative force in community development.
Founded in 1997, Besania SACCO has grown from a small values-based initiative into a multi-billion-shilling cooperative serving more than 25,000 members across western Uganda, all without relying on donor funding or foreign credit.
“Our organisational vision is to become the leading SACCO in Uganda where members act as genuine, accountable stewards of resources for the benefit of all mankind,” says Board Chairman Benson Nduhura.
“You cannot experience life in its fullness while trapped in a cycle of poverty. That is why we intentionally structured both financial and non-financial interventions covering social, economic and spiritual dimensions. We operate using the core cooperative principles; member-financed, member-controlled and member-used.”
Building wealth one coin at a time
At the centre of Besania’s growth is what it calls the “Shs 200 Project’’ — a grassroots micro-savings initiative operating through more than 500 community groups.
The model reaches deep into both rural communities and urban informal settlements, including Baghdad slum in Mbarara City, where even Nduhura himself remains an active participant.
According to SACCO leaders, one slum-based savings group alone mobilised more than Shs 500 million, illustrating how collective saving, transparency and minimal transaction costs can generate trust and financial discipline.
General Manager Calorine Natukunda says the SACCO’s mobilisation strategy encourages members to embrace the local philosophy of Kamwe Kamwe nigwo Muganda — achieving progress steadily through small but consistent efforts.
“Sensitisation has been done through one-on-one engagement, groups and churches. More people continue embracing the idea that gradual saving eventually creates meaningful capital,” she said.
Turning agriculture into industry
Beyond savings and credit, Besania has aggressively invested in agro-industrialisation.
In 2018, the SACCO invested Shs 240 million to acquire the Besania Maize Factory in Nyakaizi Cell, Kakoba Ward, Mbarara City South.
Operating under a collective market model, the factory buys maize directly from cooperative members at prices designed to cushion them against market volatility.
“We walk with farmers from cultivation to final value addition,” Nduhura explained.
“If market prices fall to Shs 1,400 per kilogramme, we intervene and purchase at Shs 1,600. This has reduced exploitation by brokers and attracted thousands of new members.”
According to Quality Control Supervisor Ezra Tayebwa, the factory maintains strict food safety procedures.
“All incoming maize undergoes laboratory testing at reception, during processing and before final milling to eliminate aflatoxin contamination. Even after producing posho/maize flour, samples are certified before distribution.”
Factory capacity has expanded significantly, growing from 2.5 tonnes per day in August 2024 to between 15 and 19 tonnes daily following machinery upgrades.
Machine Operator Rodgers Mushabe said the expansion has created dependable employment opportunities and improved household incomes for workers.
Conservation with commercial value
Besania’s development strategy extends into environmental stewardship.
In 2019, the SACCO acquired a five-hectare demonstration farm along the River Rwizi buffer zone in Buremba Cell at a cost of Shs 240 million.
Rather than allowing unchecked encroachment, the SACCO promotes income-generating conservation activities such as beekeeping.
“Instead of fighting endless battles with encroachers, we teach communities to establish apiaries along riverbanks. They earn from honey while protecting the environment,” Nduhura said.
The demonstration farm now serves as an agricultural training centre for urban farmers and students, offering practical lessons in dairy farming, poultry, piggery, greenhouse farming and small-scale intensive agriculture.
The SACCO has also ventured into macadamia production.
According to Nduhura, the crop offers substantial returns and resilience against local market fluctuations.
“We buy raw nuts at Shs 5,000 per kilogramme. Once processed, the value increases substantially through oil extraction and packaging.”
Complementing these efforts is a 20-year government lease in Kyahi Forest Reserve, where Besania manages 120 acres of commercial eucalyptus plantations. Recent selective harvesting generated Shs 50 million while maintaining environmental sustainability.
Investing in healthier communities
Recognising that financial progress can be undermined by poor health, Besania has partnered with Juna Amagara Ministries Uganda to establish a community health insurance programme.
Under the arrangement, members contribute an annual premium of Shs 40,000 deducted from their dividends.
Natukunda said many members previously delayed seeking medical care due to financial limitations.
“Today, members access screening for diabetes, blood pressure checks and advanced diagnostics. We also conduct health camps and encourage household nutrition through backyard vegetable initiatives.”
Beyond healthcare, the SACCO actively promotes financial discipline and lifestyle transformation, including campaigns discouraging alcoholism and reckless spending.
The institution has also diversified into renewable energy and value addition through products such as organic honey, bean flour, fortified soya products, maize meal and environmentally friendly charcoal briquettes.
Members tell their stories
For many members, Besania’s impact is measured in personal transformation.
Patrick Abigaba, a commercial farmer and property investor from Rubaya in Kashari, said he closed all his commercial bank accounts after joining Besania in 2005.
He credits the SACCO’s quick loan approvals for helping him access financing ranging from Shs 1 million to Shs 200 million.
The capital enabled him to build a hotel in Mbarara City, establish plantations and expand into transport and real estate.
Meanwhile, Tonny Mbabazi, a trader in Kakoba Ward, said access to affordable financing enabled her to educate her children through university and become the sole provider for her family.
Natukunda added that many members who financed their children’s education through Besania have since seen those graduates employed within the SACCO itself.
Expansion, challenges and the next frontier
Besania now manages more than Shs 20 billion in assets, with a loan portfolio exceeding Shs 15 billion, savings above Shs 12 billion and share capital of more than Shs 5 billion.
The SACCO employs over 100 staff and supports a growing supply chain spanning Kiruhura, Kazo, Ntungamo, Bushenyi, Kamwenge, Kyegegwa, Isingiro and Kagadi districts.
Yet growth has brought new challenges.
Its transport fleet — currently limited to two trucks and four motorcycles — struggles to support factory output exceeding 15 tonnes daily, prompting plans to acquire heavy-duty haulage vehicles.
The institution also continues investing heavily in farmer training to reduce losses caused by poor post-harvest handling.
Looking ahead, Besania is developing an agro-tourism and research hub at its Buremba demonstration farm, complete with a 1,000-seat pavilion, seminar facilities and accommodation for researchers.
At the same time, the SACCO plans to install a Shs 1 billion industrial grain dryer and construct 5,000-tonne storage silos as part of a Shs 2.5 billion factory expansion programme.
The goal is to raise milling capacity to 75 tonnes per day, launch commercial animal feeds and expand export opportunities.
For Nduhura, however, growth remains secondary to the cooperative mission.
“SACCOs were created to empower people economically,” he said. “If we only focus on lending and forget member empowerment, then we lose the purpose for which cooperatives were formed.”
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