One on one with REBECCA IRENE NASSUUNA. CHAIRPERSON, KCW SACCO.
It’s a beautiful Monday morning and, somewhere on the streets of Kampala, I am sitting in a beautifully laid out office space. Several art paintings welcome you through the hallway, the waiting area, and finally to my present spot. Across me is a well-polished mahogany and Rebecca sits right behind with a calm poise. Every now and then, there’s a “come in please, a please madam, oh, this needs correction; name it! From the onset, one can tell that Rebecca Irene Nassuuna is a very busy person. But as noted by Mahatma Gandhi; There is more to life than increasing its speed, and Irene knows that just so right! So, she has created time out of her busy schedule, and our story begins.
On course into our conversation, I get to know that she is a lawyer, a mother of 4 boys, (oh yes), 2 of whom are twins. So, you can call her. “Nalongo-Mother of Boys.” She is the Chairperson of Kampala Women Corporate
Qn. Where did the idea of a SACCO emerge? Ans. In my work as a lawyer, I happened to interact with so many women, especially mothers, who needed socio-economic support with raising their children as single mothers. I would go to court, mediate on their behalf and offer whatever legal help they needed.
I started by talking to a couple of friends, both men and women, about the women that I was supporting through single parenthood, and together, we started a support group for single mothers, which we named, “Brave Mum Haven”. At the time, all we wanted to do was to give a listening ear to these women, be present in their time of need and walk the journey with them.
Magical, as I might say, in one of our meetings, it dawned on us that what the women needed was to add
more economic empowerment! I cannot say that they were needy women. Not at all! But money remained a defining factor! Every now and then, a mother could run out of cash, have their business wrecked, or their children sick, name it. All these things revolved around money. Where for instance were these women running to at such moments? Did they have a fall-back plan? Which umbrella sheltered them on such rainy days? We needed a plan and forming a SACCO was the game changer!
Qn. How exactly did you begin?
Ans. We were initially 15 people. As government regulation, to begin a SACCO, we needed 30 people. So, each one of us was tasked to bring another person on board so that we could make 30 people.
Among the first 30 people were; myself, my sister – Marion Nakayenga, Brenda Irene Nantaba, Rita Sanyu Nakyanzi, Faridah Nassali, Prossy Nagawa, Sylvia Athieno. The list goes on. For the first year, the SACCO had to run from my office space, as we did not have money to rent office premises. With time, the SACCO acquired its own office space at Social Security House, and this year, the SACCO moved to new home at Buganda Road Flats, Block 661. Seeing the SACCO grow and shape out in the way it is gives me great joy.
It humbles me so much to see how far we have come, what impact we have had on our members,and most especially seeing how much our members have grown and achieved overtime,a s a result of this SACCO.
Qn. How did you transition from ‘Brave Mum Haven’ (BMH SACCO) to Kampala Corporate Women SACCO (KCW SACCO)?
Ans. At the time of registration, the registrar then, advised us to change the name to something more appealing. We had to think of something more accommodative. We agreed on Kampala Corporate Women SACCO, which went for KCW SACCO in short.
Qn. How did the men get on board?
Ans. From the beginning, the men were part of the SACCO. They were part of the support group and transitioned with us when we decided to register a SACCO group. Some of our pioneer men were; Samuel Niiwo and Julius Raymond Kabugo .The binding factor was economic security in its simplest form.
One of the biggest challenges in Uganda is access to funds, whether it is for an emergency or simply to grow your business. The stories of the women in our support group simply awakened in us, what was already in reality, regardless of gender. It was clear to each one of us that saving money on an individual basis was really hard and we needed a collective effort.
Part of what group saving does is to push you out of financial laxity and give you a new mindset. The biggest security that a SACCO gives anyone is a fall back and the men could not agree much less.
Qn. What did you envision to achieve? Ans. Our driving force was economic independence and changing the game. From the very onset, we decided that we did not want to just save money, but to create an institution that would out live us! Something that we would leave to our children and also have them leave it to their children and their children’s children.
Qn. What was the most challenging aspect of establishing the SACCO?
Ans. The beginning! They say, the start of anything is always hard. A year into our existence, most of the committee members went to the back bench. There was not so much commitment. Most members had taken up leadership but were not aware of the weight.
I thought of closing the SACCO.
Qn. How did you survive the challenges?
Ans. While we struggled as a SACCO, other SACCOs were progressing, making news rounds and having their membership growing. One of such SACCOs was Y. SAVE.
I had to look for Uncle D. Uncle D, as he is commonly known is Mr. Dunstan Kisuule. He is currently the CEO of Y. SAVE multipurpose cooperative. When I met with Uncle D, he was very helpful. He provided us with the mentorship that we needed as the leadership, guided our operations and got us back on track. We are now not only a fully registered SACCO, but also well-staffed and have invested in our SACCO systems and processes.
Our staff go through a rigorous interview process and are specially picked from the pool of so many applicants. We also have a comfortable office space for both staff to work and receive members whenever they come.
Qn. What does the journey ahead look like? Ans. Being a young organization, our biggest challenge is liquidity. We are always short of capital to sustain the credit demand. This calls for lobbying for loans and grants from banks, the government, and any other grant-giving organization. We would like every member to acquire a piece of land, at least by the end of this year.
We are looking at purchasing at least two (2) more estates by the end of 2023. We also want to see more members saving consistently and fully invested in the SACCO and the different SACCO activities.
Qn. What will it take to achieve the prospects?
Ans. Achieving the goals that we have set as a SACCO will take every member, every effort and every savings contribution. The power of a SACCO lies in its membership.
This journey will take commitment from our members, stronger institutional structures, policies, procedures and clear systems. Twenty years from now, I would love to see SACCO members’ children fully invested in the SACCO.
They are the reason why we started the SACCO. They should be able to take on SACCO roles, push the SACCO forward, buy shares, borrow money, build businesses and also bring their children on board. Once we achieve that, the SACCO will have lived to its purpose.
Qn. Are there any personal reflections on the journey?
Ans. On an individual basis, the SACCO has increased my network. It has brought new people in my life that I would never have met, and for that I am grateful. I am also very grateful to members for their commitment and faith in us. Let us keep the fire burning!