By KT Reporter
Members of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in West Nile refugee settlements are registering improved financial management from digital options.
The groups enrolled on Mobis for Savings Groups, a savings groups platform by Ensibuuko, have now digitized their transaction data on savings, loans, and withdrawals of members.
Groups using the platform manage collections, loans, attendance, and meetings via the smartphone application installed or through a website that gives them access to their finances.
Amina Beyonce, the Lead Mother at Bright Hope Women Group, notes that they are lucky to attain financial literacy skills, which now help them to easily manage their finances.
A group requires a smartphone, installs the app, and adds 3 executive members, including the Chairperson, Treasurer, and Secretary, as administrators who have access to the group. This is either linked to Mobile Money or the bank of the group, and the administrators access all information using the smartphone, while other members access it on USSD using any ordinary phone.
The Secretary of Yosukukone VSLA, Cecilia Modong, says that their members are now able to follow all transactions on the phone.
“Members can now check their balances using the USSD application, and this has created trust, unlike the past cycles where the treasurers would just announce to the members their balances,” she says.
However, Program Policy Officer Social Protection at the World Food Programme, Caroline Oyella, states that the organisation has embarked on helping women with digital finance skills.
Records from Ensibuuko indicate that more than 1,000 groups are already enrolled on the platform, using it for data storage and other transactions-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
