UCSSACCO targets a 130,000 membership by 2026

United Civil Servants SACCO (UCSSACCO) is planning to grow its membership to 130, 000 and elevate its financial standing to around K70 billion by 2026 as the company bids to expand its reach and influence.

UCSSACCO chief executive officer Francis Waliwa revealed these bold targets during an exclusive media breakfast which the company hosted at in Mzuzu.

Currently, boasting a membership base of approximately 69,000 with total assets valued at K28 billion, UCSSACCO is strategically positioning itself for substantial growth.

In pursuit of its objective, the company aims to welcome around 20,000 new members in the current fiscal year, building on the momentum of enlisting over 13,000 members in 2023.

“We have challenged ourselves to reach 130, 000 members by 2026 and this shall be beyond civil servants because we also want to penetrate to parastatals, the private sector and the community,” Waliwa said.

He added; “Very shortly, we are rolling out Small and Medium Enterprise loans so that people doing small businesses shall be helped. We are having this vision because we are sure that at the end, it will make us grow assets to over K70 billion. This will be big and will improve the services and products that we will be offering to our people.”

Highlighting the critical role of increased capital, Waliwa underscored the potential for offering enhanced products and services including larger loans and financial products.

“We want to get not less than 20,000 members in 2024 and that will give us over K40 billion in assets. That will make us offer bigger loans including cars and mortgages to our members. We also expect to make profits of not less than K10 billion, therefore, we will be able to give our members more dividends,” Waliwa said.

Since its establishment in 1992 as a Study Club with 113 members, and later changed to Mzimba Teachers SACCO before branding to UCSSACCO, the company has demonstrated impressive growth.

In 2023, UCSSACCO moved its assets from K16 billion in 2022 to K28 billion representing a 67 percent increase after bringing in 14, 000 new members. In the same period, the company made a K7 billion profit from K4 billion the other year, representing a 65 percent increase, and from the total profits K2 billion was shared among members as dividends.

Beyond financial success, UCSSACCO remained committed to corporate responsibility, supporting education, agriculture, and community development initiatives. Noteworthy projects included the refurbishment of Mapanga Prison Training School, which costed the company MK32 million and continued aid to Salima School for the Blind.

In alignment with Malawi’s long-term development vision, the Malawi 2063 Agenda, Waliwa emphasized that the company will continue offering financial literacy education to empower members to make informed financial decisions.

“We have made a lot of contributions towards the 2063 Agenda. The very first thing is that members are able to borrow from the SACCO for them to do business thus contributing to their economic well-being,” Waliwa said.