New CU Answer for Farm Families in Malawi Posted by Association of Vermont Credit Unions on 11:59 AM

Credit unions often make a difference to their members here in the U.S., but in some parts of the world a credit union is even more integral to peoples' lives.

One of the newest credit unions in the world is serving sesame, legume and rice farmers in Malawi.  In development for 18 months and established in September, 2018. Its was created with support from  the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s USAID UBALE Project, which NCBA CLUSA is implementing in Malawi with Catholic Relief Services.

Blantyre, Nsanje and Chikwawa Savings and Credit Cooperative (BNC Sacco) already has over 2,000 initial members and is on track to have 4,000 by the end of the year.  A Sacco in Malawi is typically known as a credit union in the U.S.  Sixty percent of BNC Sacco's members are women.

The idea to create a credit union among the farmers came about as part of a USAID project to reduce chronic malnutrition and food insecurity in the area, part of which was to improve access to finance so farm families can weather unpredictable markets and non-harvest seasons.   Malawi farmers have difficulty accessing credit during lean seasons of the year. About 46% of adult Malawians don't have access to any type of financial services. BNC Sacco is working with mobile money wallet providers Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) Mpamba and Airtel Money, to facilitate access to the sacco by its rural Malawi members.

BNC SACCO brings Malawi’s total SACCO’s to 35, serving a membership of more than 200,000 people across Malawi,

Read more detail in this article by NCBA-CLUSA. 

Fast Facts:  The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa, roughly the size of Florida. English is the official language among the 18 million people, 53% of whom live below the poverty line. Malawi is one of the world's least-developed countries. The economy is heavily agricultural and the population is largely rural. The Malawian government depends heavily on outside aid.