NACCUG holds 2023 conference for credit union managers, volunteers

 

Author: Pa Modou Cham

The National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions of The Gambia (NACCUG), over the weekend, held its third edition of the Credit Union Managers’ and Volunteers’ conference to raise awareness about NACCUG and the credit union movement in the country.

The conference held at the NACCUG conference hall in Kanifing was been facilitated by industry experts and graced by partners, central bank representatives and other high-profile dignitaries. The theme for the year’s conference focuses on “Financial Cooperative Harnessing Resources to Promote Economic Resilience in Communities”.

 

Foday Sanyang, General Manager of NACCUG told this medium that they had over 32 credit unions who participated with 114 participants all across the country. He added that before the conference, the participants underwent a two-day workshop to discuss pertinent topics in risk management, Data Management, privacy, and security.

 

“These are issues that credit unions felt important to them and in today’s convergent, we have veteran people who are seasoned facilitators within the industry of the credit union. They would share their knowledge and expertise with members of this credit union so that they will gain the knowledge and be able to pass it to their respective unions to see the difference in how their credit unions operate,” he stated.

 

Sanyang added that their goal is to ensure their members' data is secured while reiterating that the credit union movement currently has 114,000 members countrywide. He said they want to make sure their data is as secure as it should be.

 

“And that’s why we brought in Data Management as one of the topics. So we want to make sure the message gets across and I hope at the end of the day’s conference, participants will be well capacitized,” he added.

 

Bintou Njie, Chairperson of NACCUG board explained that the conference will have different expertise as they move to consolidate the gains made since the last conference in 2022.

She said: “I am reliably informed that 115 delegates from 32 credit unions are attending the conference. We thank the board and management of the credit union who generously supported members from smaller credit unions. Your support clearly demonstrates the principle of cooperation among cooperatives.”  

Kwang Yung Jung, Regional Coordinator of West Africa German Sparkassenstiftung, also underscored the idea of credit unions as part of their genetic code. He stated that their corporation is very crucial to understanding the different needs and challenges of the credit unions. He noted that improving their corporations now can relate to the pinpoint on where and what they can do to support NACCUG to improve and grow.

 

“So that’s why I consider these management meetings for our cooperation as a very important step to improve our cooperation for us to understand more in-depth, the needs and requirements of the credit union in the Gambia,” he said