Africa-Press – Tanzania. UCHUMI Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) in cooperation with Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA) has staged a one-day seminar to leaders of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS), Agricultural &Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) and Women and Youths groups drawn from various districts in Kilimanjaro Region.
The seminar was attended by leaders of SACCOS, AMCOS, Women and Youths groups.
Funded by a nongovernmental organization based in Sweden known as We-Effect this seminar saw participants being exposed to how to address the challenges of starting and running financial services which build the economy of the family (grassroots level) and the challenges of addressing gender inequalities among the leadership, decision making and women empowerment in SACCOS, AMCOS, Women and Youths groups.
Facilitating this seminar was the UCBL Microfinance Manager, Mr Elihuruma Nkini and Ms Happiness Mfinanga a Lawyer from TAWLA offices in Arusha.
Mr Nkini explained to participants the need and how to keep records and credits for individual members of SACCOS, AMCOS, Women and Youths groups.
Others are bookkeeping, simple financial statements like balance sheets, societies leaderships, preparation of business plans all aiming at improving family economies.
“UCBL understands very well that caring for an individual to make him access financial services at minimum interests means caring for the family economy which its multiplying effect is caring for the national economy.
If these individuals acquire loans to start agricultural livestock, poultry or small business projects at minimum interests it means they can improve their well-being economically” he said.
On her part, while facilitating in this seminar Ms Mfinanga enlightened participants on how to prepare constitutions of respective cooperative societies or groups which address the questions of gender inequalities whereby women are not well represented in decision making in their societies or groups.
One of the participants Ms Husna Kingazi from Carrot Women group thanked UCBL and TAWLA for organising the seminar adding that the materials taught were very important in addressing the woes of the provision of financial services and gender inequalities.
“I am now exposed to challenges facing the provision of financial services and how to address them and from now onwards I can advise fellow group members on how to develop a good gender policy which aims at empowering women,” she said.
