Lubaga SACCO leverages Christian faithful to grow membership
KAMPALA, March 12, 2026 – Christians who pray at Lubaga Cathedral are increasingly finding more than spiritual nourishment. Many are also gaining practical knowledge about saving, investing and managing their finances, an initiative that is steadily improving livelihoods among the faithful.
This initiative is spearheaded by Kampala Development Cooperative Society Limited [KADCOS Lubaga], a savings and credit cooperative linked to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala.
Established in 2005, the SACCO has steadily expanded its membership through delivering financial literacy sessions to church congregants. The approach has strengthened recruitment, increased savings and earned the support of several members of the clergy.
“People are opening savings accounts, securing loans to start businesses and even investing in their children’s education. Our church has become more than just a place of worship,” said Patrick Dumba, manager of the cooperative.
Speaking to The Cooperator News in a brief interview, Dumba explained that he regularly visits different churches alongside teams of SACCO members to promote the benefits of joining the cooperative. During these visits, the team also provides financial literacy guidance to help Christians understand the importance of improving their financial wellbeing.
“It is about financial empowerment, and we are seeing lives transformed as a result. We have changed lives in Buyege, Bussi Islands and other remote areas within the Archdiocese,” he said.
The SACCO’s experience demonstrates how community engagement and financial education delivered through faith-based institutions can foster economic empowerment.
Meanwhile, during the Annual General Meeting [AGM] held recently in Kampala, Dumba reported that the outreach strategy has extended the SACCO’s presence to more distant areas in the districts of Mpigi, and Wakiso, enabling the cooperative to reach more people through its financial education programmes.
“Last year we conducted at least six financial literacy trainings approved by the ministry to ensure our members are equipped with basic financial and business management skills,” he told the AGM.
According to Dumba, these training sessions have also helped boost membership growth, as many participants decide to join the SACCO immediately after attending.
“These activities even enabled us to build a church in Busega, where members expressed their commitment and the SACCO also demonstrated support for the cause. We bought land, constructed the church, and members have remained committed to repaying their loans,” he said.
With support from the SACCO, Christians in Busega worked together to acquire land and construct a church building. The cooperative managed payments for construction materials and services, while members made periodic deposits to the SACCO based on their individual commitments.
Financial performance
The SACCO’s savings deposits grew to Shs 2.5 billion in 2025, up from Shs1.64bln the previous year. Share capital also increased from Shs68 million to Shs129 million.
Loan disbursements reached Shs1.7bln, representing a 23 per cent increase from Shs1.4bln in the previous year.
Following resolutions from the previous AGM, management intensified loan recovery efforts, achieving a recovery rate of about 70 percent and collecting Shs1.59bln. This helped address non-performing loans that had previously stood at approximately Shs19mln in 2024.
Dumba also revealed that the SACCO is gathering data to develop its own financial technology interface, citing concerns about relying on external fintech providers that could expose members’ funds to potential risks.
“We have been exploring this for some time. We tested several fintech providers by hiring ethical hackers to assess their systems, but the results were disappointing,” he said.
The AGM further approved a proposal to introduce a dollar-denominated savings account to enable members living abroad to continue saving with the SACCO. In addition, the cooperative will begin charging a 1.5 percent loan protection fee on each principal borrowed.
Other strategic initiatives adopted include mandatory financial training for board and management members to strengthen governance and performance, as well as allocating a budget for the construction of the Lubaga Cathedral Presbytery.
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