Guidebook on Financial Cooperatives Promotion to Serve the Unbanked

SACCO are Financial Cooperatives, similar with all type of Cooperatives they are autonomous associations, owned by user-member, formed by persons united voluntarily to meet their common socio-economic & cultural needs through a jointly owned, democratically managed-controlled financial enterprise. Members are owner-investor-users, ultimate decision makers, leaders & promoters of the financial enterprise, net savers and borrowers, share benefits & risks of the enterprise. Like any type of Cooperative, SACCOs operate under the principle of ¿one person, one vote¿ in decision making, fairly priced service, but not profit maximization, focused on Savings culture development within communities, create self-financed society through local prudent resource utilization, internal capital formation in serving the unbanked. However, SACCO Societies face several challenges to grow & achieve their goals in Africa such as lack of appropriate support services, and regulatory policy that fit their nature. This Guidebook therefore, designed to promote & manage SACCO Societies in developing countries with an appropriate support services, & regulatory policy to optimize the benefits for the unbanked.