Professionalizing Kiwira-SACCOS & preparing for growth in members

Kiwira SACCOs Ltd is a saving and credit primary cooperative society registered in 2002. It is operating in Tukuyu district, Mbeya Region, South-east Tanzania. It's main products are providing security for member's deposits and savings, issuing loans to members and money transfer. The SACCOs has more than 1000 individual members and over 100 corporate members (groups and associations). The membership to Kiwira SACCOs is not restricted to farmers only but majority of its members is either farming or professionally active in agricultural sector. The Tukuyu district is a very fertile area with reliable rainfall. Some important crops are tea, bananas and Irish potatoes. KIWIRA Sacco's objectives: 1. professionalizing its administration and services to members 2. Increase its membership base (to 5000 in 2018), increase their involvement (capital) and reach-out to more rural farming populations by opening branches in villages closer to the members. 3. Increase internal capitalization and decrease dependency on external loans. 4.Diversifying its products for members; a.o. proposing agricultural inputs loans to the farmer 5. at term support farmer-members in professionalizing marketing of potato As potato farmers are hardly organized, Kiwira-saccos could at term be an entry point for Agriterra interacting with potato farmers and eventually strengthen their position in the potato value chain.