By Kingsley Jassi:
What started as a small teachers’ Sacco in Mzimba has evolved into a multi-billion kwacha financial institution, boasting assets worth K70 billion.
United Civil Servants Sacco (UCS Sacco), the country’s largest, is projected to make a K14 billion profit in 2025, cementing its growth path as it has mobilised membership within the public sector totalling 91 000.
UCS Sacco Chief Executive Officer Francis Waliwa said on the sidelines of the Sacco’s end of the year party in Lilongwe that the performance w a s based on the Sacco’s five- y e a r strategic plan that ends next year.
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“Actually we have already achieved the next year’s targets and this is due to the high performance culture that we’ve built,” Waliwa said.
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Nevertheless, this performance is part of the wider performance of the cooperatives industry in the country that is said to be serving at least 1 million Malawians, contributing to the national access to finance efforts.
At a recent Saccos Annual Conference in Salima, Reserve Bank of Malawi Deputy Governor Kisu Simwaka said the Sacco industry growth is a benefit of a transformative regulatory framework that has been developed since 2010.
Since 2012, the industry has increased assets from just K3.5 billion to K146 billion in 2024.
Meanwhile, the UCS Sacco’s transformation over the years has necessitated its relocation from Mzimba to Mzuzu City and now in the Capital City as its membership has sprawled countrywide and needs to operate from a central point.
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Nico Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Vizenge Kumwenda urged Sacco to ensure high ratings from customers as a key driver of customer base expansion.
The Sacco industry has over 400 000 members across the country with deposits and shares exceeding K83 billion and a loan portfolio K95 billion.
The introduction of the Financial Services Act (2010) and Financial C o o p e r a t i v e s Act (2011) have bolstered improvement in governance and compliance with performance rates now exceeding 80 percent and are projected to hit 90 percent by year end, according to RBM.
