HOW COOPERATIVE ARE SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES?: AN ANALYSIS OF DATASETS FROM UGANDA |
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| Authors: | Oliver SCHMIDT |
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| Institution: | Mountains of the Moon University, Fort Portal, UgandaThis paper reflects and synergizes debates and efforts of microfinance practitioners from various Ugandan and international agencies since 2005. The paper hence applauds their joint achievements and encourages to build on them while closing gaps, particularly of data available. I am grateful for comments from participants of the conference ‘Design and Dynamics of Institutions of Collective Action’ at Utrecht University (Netherlands) from 29 November to 1 December 2012, where an earlier version of this paper was presented. I very much appreciate the two anonymous referees of APCE who greatly helped improve the paper. Last but not least, I thank Christopher Wilson for proof‐reading. E‐mail: . |
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| Abstract: | Building successful savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) that actually embody the cooperative principles is a challenge to development agencies. Although SACCOs form the majority of microfinance providers in many developing countries, the most recent literature on microfinance governance and performance has given little reference to the longstanding body of relevant cooperative literature. SACCO representation in microfinance datasets is biased. Drawing on so‐far unexploited datasets of Ugandan SACCOs and savings groups, this paper empirically analyses policy debate regarding SACCO‐ and savings group regulation. The findings point to the relevance of practically implementing the principle of ‘cooperation between cooperatives’ to ensure effective governance at SACCO level. Moreover, the paper introduces two new measures, based on members' savings and shares, which could become useful tools to track the application of cooperative principles in developing countries, and hence improve evidence‐based policy‐making for SACCOs. |
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| Keywords: | Savings and credit cooperatives Membership Cooperative principles Development cooperation Microfinance |
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