Sam Coleman DunlapProject Director – Kenya/USDAWorld Council of Credit Unions

sdunlap@woccu.orgwww.woccu.org

Kenya: Linking Stakeholders

International Food Aid ConferenceApril 8, 2009

The global trade association and development agency for credit unions

worldwide.

Promoting the sustainable development of credit unions to empower people around the world to grow through access

to high-quality, affordable financial services.

Improving people’s lives through credit unions

Who is WOCCU?

Credit unions are financial cooperatives that provide savings, credit and other financial services to their members.

Credit union membership is based on a common bond, a linkage shared by savers and borrowers who belong to a specific community, organization, religion or place of employment.

What is a Credit Union?

Credit Unions Worldwide

177 Million Members

49,000 Credit Unions

96 Countries

Programs in 2009

WOCCU/USDA-Kenya

• Credit union strengthening• Agriculture business development

services• Education grant program for children of

HIV/AIDS-affected households

Kenya: Linking Stakeholders through Value Chain Finance

WOCCU/USDA-Kenya

• 80% of the population relies on agriculture to make a living

• 40% unemployment rate • Estimated agricultural labor lost to AIDS*

– 3.9% (2000)– 16.8% (2020 est.)

• Nyanza province has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Kenya

* U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization

Kenya Context

Kenya

WOCCU/USDA-Kenya

1. Farmers become SACCO members and apply for an agricultural loan

2. WOCCU identifies and contracts with buyers3. WOCCU reviews applications and inspects land to

determine input needs4. SACCO distributes loans in the form of vouchers for

necessary inputs5. Suppliers return vouchers to the SACCO for compensation6. WOCCU and the buyer monitor crop performance until

harvest7. Buyer remits crop payment to the SACCO8. SACCO clears the farmers’ loan and transfers the profit to

an individual or group savings account

Mitigating Ag Lending Risk

WOCCU/USDA-Kenya

Challenges• Drought• Institutional

strengthening• Simplifying the process

Learning from the Process

WOCCU/USDA-Kenya

Achievements• Comprehensive assistance

to farmers– Access to finance– Agricultural technical

assistance– Market linkages

• Increased credit union membership

• Affordable loans and access to savings

Learning from the Process

WOCCU/USDA-Kenya

PeruSri LankaEthiopia

Adapting What We’ve Learned

Sam Coleman DunlapProject Director – Kenya/USDAWorld Council of Credit Unionssdunlap@woccu.orgwww.woccu.org

Thank you