Greater Masaka: Emyooga sacco leaders tipped on member satisfaction
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In a bid to enhance the growth of Emyooga SACCOs in the Greater Masaka region, leaders from 24 SACCOs have been urged to focus on member satisfaction as a key strategy to attract and retain more members.
During an exchange visit to the Tooro Sub-region, the leaders were exposed to successful SACCO operations, learning valuable lessons on leadership and member engagement.
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The visit aimed to educate and inspire the leaders from Greater Masaka, where they acknowledged the challenge of superiority among SACCO leaders, which has hindered their steady growth.
The tour provided the leaders with insights on how prioritizing member satisfaction can foster loyalty and growth.
Mercy Kusemererwa Masitula, Manager of Busaiga SACCO, shared her experience with the visiting delegation, highlighting the critical role of integrity in SACCO leadership.
"As a SACCO leader, keeping your word is essential. It builds trust among members, and this trust translates into growth as satisfied members naturally encourage others to join," she emphasized.
Kusemererwa noted that in customer mobilization, when you keep your word, members will mobilize each other because they know you fulfill your Word always.
"If you tell someone I'm going to process your loan in three days, process that loan in less than two days, so that this satisfied member will mobilize three more members for you, other than working to entice and then you don't fulfill."
She noted that a satisfied member will actively encourage others to join the SACCO, while a dissatisfied member is likely to discourage potential members from joining.
"A satisfied member will mobilise more three members and a dissatisfied one will demobilise seven and the seven also discourage more seven each and before you know, you lose popularity, you lose their trust, and people cannot trust you with money. So before you go to mobilize, come first, prepare what you're going to serve them."
Emmanuel Mbogha, the Zonal Manager of the Microfinance Support Center (MSC) for Kabarole Zone, emphasized that member mobilization and satisfaction are essential drivers of sacco growth.
"The main driver to grow these circles is member mobilization, member satisfaction and self sustainability. You know, at one time Emyooga will be self sustainable and run their business as Saccos in the future, and to do this, we have to ensure that all the Emyooga Saccos mobilize savings, share capital, and also improve on recovery, plus investing in other projects that generate for them income."
The leaders from Greater Masaka left the visit with a renewed commitment to improve the management of their saccos, focusing on creating an environment where members feel valued and satisfied.
They expressed optimism that the lessons learned will lead to the transformation of their saccos, allowing them to overcome internal challenges and grow their membership base.
Robert Lubega, a resident of Kakuuko in Kyotera District and chairperson of the Kakuuko Disability Emyooga sacco, acknowledged that his sacco had weaknesses that were not being taken seriously.
However, after the exchange visit, his perspective has changed, particularly regarding how to better manage and engage sacco members.
"I haven't been focusing enough on the current members; my priority has always been recruiting new members, not realizing that satisfying those already on board can actually attract more. When I return, I plan to improve how I engage with the existing members so that we can grow together as a sacco," he said.
Lubega praised the Microfinance Support Center for providing the opportunity to visit Tooro and gain valuable insights from various successful saccos.
With the insights gained from Tooro, the sacco leaders aim to implement best practices in their regions, fostering an inclusive and trustworthy environment for their members, which they believe will trigger an organic increase in membership and a stronger sacco movement in Greater Masaka.