MBALE: The Success Story of Mbale City Northern Division Produce Dealers Emyoga SACCO
By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE CITY
Mbale City Northern Division Produce Dealers Emyoga SACCO has made remarkable progress in improving the livelihoods of its members, becoming a shining example of the presidential initiative on wealth and job creation, “Emyoga.”
The SACCO has 422 individual members who have collectively saved 40 million shillings.
The organization has disbursed 105 million shillings in loans, recovered Shs58 million, and has 54 outstanding loans.
SACCO Secretary, Sylvia Nafuna told our reporter in an exclusive interview on Friday, 26th July, 2024 at Northern City Division Offices that the organization received an initial seed capital of Shs30 million, followed by an additional 20 million shillings from Microfinance Support Centre.
She says these funds have been loaned to the 16 active associations under the SACCO. Members have engaged in various enterprises, including value addition, baking confectioneries, and farming, yielding positive results for example, the Nabuyonga Young Single Mothers Association received 4.5 million shillings.
Fred Kidandi, the SACCO Chairperson, highlighted another success as their members got money and bought coffee seedlings which they planted Instead of selling coffee to other businessmen,
“We decided to utilize it ourselves by making coffee powder,” he says.
Other enterprises include processing blends of millet flour with cocoyam, yellow sweet potatoes.
Members credit their success to the skills gained through training sessions and exchange visits, particularly one in Kabale sponsored by the Microfinance Support Center.
Beneficiaries have praised President Museveni for the Emyoga programme, which has significantly transformed their lives.
In 2019, Emyoga was launched with the aims to elevate 39 percent of homesteads from subsistence to market-oriented production through internal savings mobilization and seed capital provision. The initiative targets 18 specialized enterprises.
The success stories from Mbale City Northern Division Produce Dealers Emyoga SACCO demonstrate the potential of community-based financial initiatives to drive economic growth and improve livelihoods.
