COMSIP drives digitization for Savings and Loans Groups

COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited has introduced digitization for its savings and loans groups (SLGs) as it recapitalizes loanable funds to groups affected by Cyclone Freddy.

The digitization of the groups is preceded by the training of 74 extension workers drawn from 9 districts in the southern region- Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Mulanje, Nsanje, Phalombe, Thyolo and Zomba

The 4-day training which is being conducted in Blantyre is facilitated by a team from a Ugandan firm trading under the name of Einsibuuko. The training started Monday and will run up to Thursday in Blantyre. The extension workers will in turn train animators drawn from 202 clusters with a membership of 6, 518

Chief Executive Officer of COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited Tenneson Gondwe explained that the introduction of digitization to its savings and loan groups is to among other things safeguard and achieve real time access to group records.

“When the cyclone happened most of our groups lost their records because they used paper. Membership also lost their savings. This could not have happened had their being digitization of records, hence this time we would like to introduce digitization to the groups that we are going to work with under Cyclone Freddy Livelihoods restoration” he said.

According to Gondwe, digitization is a shift from manual system of recording financial transactions of the SLGs to a digitalized system and that the cyclone Freddy livelihoods recovery programme will be used as a pilot, after which it will be rolled to all SLGs that COMSIP works with.

Under the Cyclone Freddy Livelihoods Recovery Programme, COMSIP has invested MK188 million kwacha in the revolving grant that will see members of Savings and Loan Groups from Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) under the Livelihood Support Sub component of the SSRLP having access to the funds that will establish them in business so that they recover their productive and income generating activities.

In his remarks, Financial Institutions Manager, at Einsibuuko Arnold Tumwa who is one of the trainers, touted digitization, saying it brings with it more benefits like accurate records of financial transactions, enhance savings mobilization and enable SLGs to generate credit scores.

The cyclone freddy recovery programme is being implemented with funding from the World Bank and Multi Donor Trust Fund while the digitization technical support is being implemented by Einsibuuko, with funding from the United Nations Capital Development Fund