KAMPALA, December 23, 2025 — Across Uganda, cooperatives are being urged to “go digital.” From electronic accounting systems to mobile-based savings applications, the cooperative movement is being rebranded as modern, efficient, and data-driven. In theory, this transformation should empower every member to track savings, monitor loans, and make informed financial decisions. In practice, however, a quiet inequality is taking shape—one that threatens the very foundation of cooperation.
Digitalisation in cooperatives is intended to serve all members equally. Yet it is increasingly exposing a widening information gap. In many societies, only managers and a small circle of tech-savvy members truly understand how the new digital systems function. The tech-savvy managers control digital records, manage dashboards, and interpret financial reports.
Meanwhile, rural and older members—who form the backbone of cooperative membership—remain dependent on verbal explanations or handwritten summaries. Information, the lifeblood of collective decision-making, is becoming concentrated in the hands of a few, and this is not good for all members and development of the cooperatives supposed to thrive on transparency, and good governance.
This digital divide is most visible during general meetings. A treasurer projects a digital balance sheet onto a wall. A few members nod knowingly; the rest sit in silence, unsure whether the figures represent growth or loss. On paper, everyone is equal. In reality, the cooperative is quietly splitting into two tiers: the digital and the analogue. Digital literacy, rather than elected leadership, is beginning to shape hierarchy within institutions founded on shared power.
This is not simply a story about technology; it is a story about power. When only a few people can read, interpret, or manipulate data, they become gatekeepers of truth. Who confirms that software entries reflect real transactions? Who scrutinises digital reports before they are submitted to regulators or lenders? When the majority of members cannot independently interpret the data, accountability weakens and trust erodes.
Government-backed initiatives such as Uganda’s Parish Development Model [PDM] have accelerated the shift toward digital record-keeping. Many PDM SACCOs now rely on IT systems to disburse funds to beneficiaries through the Parish Development Information System [PDMIS]. While these tools promise transparency and efficiency, implementation often prioritises software over people. Training sessions are brief and frequently restricted to management committees, leaving ordinary members, especially in rural areas—without meaningful digital literacy support. As a result, the promise of transparency is undermined by exclusion.
The irony is striking. Cooperatives were created to democratise access—to give ordinary people control through shared ownership and collective decision-making. Yet digital systems that lack inclusive design can produce the opposite outcome. They do not eliminate elites; they simply replace the traditional banker with a new figure: the data handler. The cooperative becomes less about shared control and more about controlled information, and this ends up harming all members to the extent that their goals may not be achieved.
The solution is not to slow digital transformation, but to humanise it. Every cooperative software initiative should include a dedicated budget for member-wide training, not just for administrators. Financial reports must be presented in accessible formats—using visual summaries, plain language, and regular member information sessions. Regulators, too, should require SACCOs to demonstrate not only system adoption, but member understanding.
Digitalisation can be empowering, but only when it is inclusive. If the current trajectory continues, Uganda’s cooperatives risk erecting digital walls inside institutions meant to unite people. The future of cooperative growth depends not just on access to technology, but on who gets to interpret it. True progress will come when every member—not just a select few—can look at a screen and say with confidence, “This is our cooperative, and I understand it.”
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