{"id":153822,"date":"2025-11-26T18:31:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance"},"modified":"2025-11-26T19:10:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T19:10:51","slug":"cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance","title":{"rendered":"Cooperative Bank, UNDP Sign Deal to Boost Rural Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>Cooperative Bank of South Sudan has tapped the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in what experts are calling one of the most ambitious attempts yet to bring modern finance into the country\u2019s rural economy.<\/p>\n

The deal, part of the multi-donor Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development project, aims to pull thousands of small farmers, women entrepreneurs and youth-run agribusinesses into the formal financial system\u2014many of them for the first time.<\/p>\n

At the signing ceremony in Juba, Caroline Mwongera, the country director for the UN\u2019s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), termed the deal a turning point.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis agreement represents a transformational step in strengthening South Sudan\u2019s rural financial systems,\u201d she said, adding that the project will use credit, cooperative development and financial literacy as tools for long-term rural transformation.<\/p>\n

Backed by a $20 million (Sh2.6 trillion) IFAD grant and additional contributions from the South Sudanese government, UNDP, Cooperative Bank and local communities, this brings the total funding to more than $25 million (Sh3.3 trillion).<\/p>\n

The initiative aims to reach 162,000 people across seven counties, with half expected to be women and 70 percent youth.<\/p>\n

Officials say the structure of the project<\/p>\n

reflects the realities of South Sudan\u2019s farm<\/p>\n

economy, where many farmers still rely on informal savings groups, handwritten lending records and unstructured markets.<\/p>\n

In places like Aweil and Terekeka, farmers often have to travel for hours to reach the nearest formal financial institution.<\/p>\n

A woman selling sorghum in Yambio or a youth group running a poultry project in Maridi may earn a modest income but lack bank accounts, credit histories or access to affordable loans\u2014making growth nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

Evans Kenyi Solomon, a technical adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the initiative puts cooperatives at the centre of fixing these gaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cYouth and women empowerment is not a side agenda,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is the engine that drives peace, prosperity, and resilience in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described cooperatives as the missing link, explaining how farmer groups can negotiate better prices, bulk-buy inputs such as seeds or fertilizers and build shared storage facilities that reduce postharvest losses.<\/p>\n

Elijah Wamalwa, managing director of the Cooperative Bank, said the partnership culminates years of planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cA journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,\u201d Wamalwa said. \u201cToday marks an important step because we have finally agreed to walk this journey together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the bank\u2019s role will be to expand rural financial services and credit access.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want a future where a farmer in Nimule or Torit can access credit as easily as someone in Juba,\u201d Wamalwa said.<\/p>\n

Plans include expanding agency banking and developing a mobile-based financial platform.<\/p>\n

Ligane Sene, deputy representative and senior economist for UNDP, said the project is a timely opportunity to diversify South Sudan\u2019s oil-dependent economy and tackle challenges like low crop yields and weak markets. \u201cWhen farmers work in groups, they gain the power of scale,\u201d Sene said. \u201cThat is how we move from food imports to food self-sufficiency.\u201d He also added that the project could help fast-track South Sudan\u2019s shift toward a cashless economy, aided by a new national payment framework<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. Cooperative Bank of South Sudan has tapped the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in what experts are calling one of the most ambitious attempts yet to bring modern finance into the country\u2019s rural economy. The deal, part of the multi-donor Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development project, aims to pull thousands of small […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":153820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[544],"class_list":["post-153822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nCooperative Bank, UNDP Sign Deal to Boost Rural Finance - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cooperative Bank of South Sudan has tapped the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in what experts are calling o ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cooperative Bank, UNDP Sign Deal to Boost Rural Finance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cooperative Bank of South Sudan has tapped the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in what experts are calling o ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-26T18:31:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-26T19:10:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2025\/11\/sm_1764171568.106693.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1067\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Cooperative Bank, UNDP Sign Deal to Boost Rural Finance\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-26T18:31:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-26T19:10:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance\"},\"wordCount\":541,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2025\/11\/sm_1764171568.106693.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Kenya\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/cooperative-bank-undp-sign-deal-to-boost-rural-finance\",\"name\":\"Cooperative Bank, UNDP Sign Deal to Boost Rural Finance - 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