UCA engages coffee cooperatives on revival of Cooperative Bank
During the meeting, cooperators were assured that reviving the farmers’ bank would ease access to credit for inputs such as fertilisers and seedlings, as well as provide financing for agro-industrialisation
MBALE CITY, December 8, 2025 — The Uganda Cooperative Alliance [UCA] has held an engagement meeting with leaders of coffee cooperatives from the eastern region to discuss the revival of the Cooperative Bank.
The meeting, held on Friday at Wash and Wills Hotel in Mbale City, saw UCA officials explain why the Cooperative Bank, established in 1964 under the Cooperative Societies Statute of 1963, was closed by the Bank of Uganda [BoU] on May 9, 1999.
During the meeting, cooperators were assured that reviving the farmers’ bank would ease access to credit for inputs such as fertilisers and seedlings, as well as provide financing for agro-industrialisation. The bank is also expected to address the financing gaps left by traditional commercial banks.
Addressing the cooperators, the UCA General Secretary, Ivan Asiimwe thanked the government for its efforts toward establishing a new Cooperative Bank in Uganda, noting that the UCA has already registered the bank with the BoU.
“The Alliance has already set up the bank and completed registration. However, it still requires infrastructure, minimum capital, skilled personnel and other resources as required by the Bank of Uganda,” he said.
He emphasised that the revival of the bank was a direct request from cooperators, particularly coffee farmers, who continue to struggle with limited access to affordable and appropriate financing.
Sarah Musabazi, Chairperson of Bulambuli Organic Produce Cooperative Ltd, welcomed the initiative, saying it would enable farmers to save, access crop financing and increase production to better sustain their families.
For his part, Samuel Wakinya, Chairman of Bushika Integrated Area Cooperative Enterprise [BIACE] and a UCA Board Member, noted that Ugandan farmers frequently face obstacles when seeking loans from commercial banks due to high interest rates and unfavourable terms.
According to the Finance ministry’s Performance of the Economy Monthly Report, October 2025, the weighted average lending rate for Shilling-denominated credit fell only marginally from 18.46 per cent in August 2025 to 18.45 per cent in September 2025, with some banks charging above 20 per cent.
Wakinya expressed optimism that a Cooperative Bank, being farmer-owned, would offer better opportunities, including share ownership for members.
Cooperators at the meeting agreed that middlemen have long exploited farmers, and urged the UCA to intensify sensitisation at the grassroots, particularly among illiterate farmers, to ensure wider participation in the bank’s revival.
In September this year, the UCA in partnership with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives [MTIC] launched the National Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Limited [NCSCSL] at the National Cooperatives Conference 2025, as a precursor to the establishment of the Cooperative Bank.
As the UCA moves around the country seeking views about the re-establishment of the Cooperative Bank, Uganda currently lags behind neighbours Kenya and Tanzania, both of which have operational cooperative banks that support farmers’ economic activities.
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