Muscco pledges to support women Sacco members

Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Muscco) has pledged to support women in savings and credit cooperatives (Saccos) to grow their businesses.

Muscco board chairperson Colonel Richard Chidzungu said this on Friday in Salima during a three-day Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) Malawi Sister Society Annual Conference. 

He said: “We believe that women’s inclusion is not just the right thing to do, but is the economic thing to do as well.

“We believe that the experience they share through these meetings will inspire the members to do more.”

In her remarks, Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati challenged women to stand up and collaborate to deal with the challenges facing them to boost their businesses.

She decried what she called pull-her-down syndrome among women, particularly in business.

Said Kaliati: “It is sad that today, a woman’s obstacle even in business is a fellow woman. In politics, women don’t want to vote for fellow women, and even in the workplace, some women hinder the progress of other women.

“How can we achieve women’s empowerment if we continue going in that direction?”

GWLN Malawi Sister Society president Rose Msosa said they plan to improve the society’s visibility to increase membership.

“Currently, we have more than 150 members, but we plan to reach out to more so that we can inspire more women to take up leadership positions in the Saccos,” she said.

GWLN Malawi Sister Society is a grouping that aims at advancing women in leadership and providing a platform for females working with Saccos in the country to network and share experiences.

Among others, the network runs a women’s mentorship programme and offers scholarships to needy students.

This year’s conference theme was ‘Digging deeper: Overcoming obstacles to women in leadership.