The World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) have launched a strategy to sustain credit union development work in Guatemala and Kenya, in addition to their recent commitment to continue support for development work in Ukraine.
US$650,000 will be distributed to projects in the three countries this year, via the Rally the Movement fund – a campaign launched following the Trump administration’s termination of USAID awards that funded Woccu’s overseas projects.
Woccu had been running three projects across seven countries with USAID funding before it was cut.
With a target of $3m, Rally the Movement has so far raised over $1.19m through donations from credit unions, credit union associations and industry partners.
“This strategy ensures we can preserve the incredible progress made through years of development work and adapt to current challenges with targeted, high-impact solutions,” said Paul Treinen, interim president and CEO of Woccu.
“We’re proud to move these initiatives forward in partnership with World Council member credit union associations who share our commitment to cooperative finance and community empowerment.”
The first phase of the strategy will involve a previously announced $210,000 grant distributed to Ukrainian credit unions via the Ukrainian United Credit Union (UUCU), to expand agricultural and MSME lending.
In Guatemala, Woccu plans to train mobile credit union agents to deliver tailored savings products to underserved women, while expanding lending to small businesses through partner financial co-ops.
Three Kenyan savings and credit co-operatives (Saccos) will receive support through the delivery of Woccu’s SME Lending Toolkit, a set of tested tools and templates developed to prepare credit unions to sustainably serve small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Last year Woccu announced that the toolkit had led to the distribution of 1,767 loans worth $41m to SMEs in Kenya, Guatemala, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.
