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Savings and Credit Schemes in East and Southern Africa

The Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development -ACORD- carries out a rural development promotion programme in South Western Uganda - 1

Ramani JAYASUNDERE

06 / 1994

The Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development(ACORD)carries out a rural development promotion programme in South Western Uganda named the Oruchinga Valley Rural Credit Society(OVRCS).

The aim of the credit scheme is to provide supplementary credit to rural producer groups at reasonable interest rates without collateral.

It also aims to serve as a stepping stone for target groups to become eligible for institutional credit by organising and operating their own credit programmes and by this, to help strengthen internal organisational and financial capabilities of the target groups.

The target group includes several defined categories of producers and investors. Small investment/producer groups for group investment or individual investment with loans obtained through the group and producer associations for association investments.

The credit scheme follows a grouping system with regard to prospective loanees but the loan disbursement method followed is unique. Under the scheme, primarily, a credit scheme is implemented within the group of prospective loanees. Funds for the scheme are accumulated by the group itself through membership fees, member deposits, group wage work, profits of group productive and commercial activities. Once the group operates a successful credit scheme within the group without outside assistance, the group can apply for credit from the OVRCS.

This project uses the Change Agent(CA)approach to implement and carry out its credit programme. Under the CA approach, CAs of ACORD live and work among the target group of rural farmers in the target area.

The role of the CAs is to carry out awareness building and participatory action research with the rural poor.

Those who respond to the CA activities are assisted by the CAs to build up their own small groups in order to carry out income generating activities.

Key words

rural credit


, Uganda, Uganda South Western, Oruchinga Valley

Comments

The credit scheme follows an effective pre-credit disbursement plan where the target group is required to set up and operate a loan scheme among themselves before receiving credit from OVRCS. This enables the target group to understand the importance of credit and the ways of operating a credit scheme. It also makes them responsible for the creditthat will be disbursed by OVRCS as it will be added to their own scheme which consists of their own money. The system further enables OVRCS to gauge the performance of their potential loanees and formulate their loan conditions accordingly.

Notes

Case Studies Presented at the IRED Regional Workshop on "Access to Credit")

Source

Book

DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT SERVICES OF IRED EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA, THE DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT SERVICE OF IRED, 1992 (INDIA)

IRED Asie (Development Support Service) - 562/3 Nawala Road - Rajagiriya - Sri Lanka Tel : 94 1 695 481 - Fax : 94 1 - 688 368

legal mentions