BLANTYRE, Malawi -
More than 400 credit union delegates from 21 countries attended the event that helped showcase the size and scope of the international credit union movement while bringing it home for the host nation of Malawi.
"The coming of the congress to Malawi has made Malawians realize that the SACCO movement is not just a small thing being promoted in this country, but that it actually belongs to a much larger movement on the continent and throughout the world," said Sylvester Kadzola, Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (MUSCCO) chief executive officer and WOCCU board member. "That alone has made people here realize for the first time the significance of the movement."
According to WOCCU's 2006 Statistical Report, 24 African countries reported that more than 8,000 credit unions across the continent serve 7% of the entire population. Africa has the fastest growing membership of all regions, the report indicated.
New to this year's Africa Congress is WOCCU's supplemental Manager Certification Program, a two-year course of study modeled after the Western CUNA Management School for current and aspiring credit union managers.
The program offers training on a range of topics, including financial analysis, marketing, savings mobilization and credit administration. The program requires participants to complete a project at their credit union and to successfully pass an exam at the end of each year's sessions. Thirty Africa Congress participants from five countries enrolled in the Manager Certification course this week.
