Established in 1980, the Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (MUSCCO) is a member-based organisation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) operating throughout Malawi to promote the sustainable growth and development of financial cooperatives and their members through cost-effective inclusive programming, and technical, financial, and banking services support. With 36 staff members (including ten women), MUSCCO is a national democratically-controlled apex organization of 40 SACCOs affiliated with MUSCCO with a total membership of over 170,000. MUSCCO is also a member of the World Council of Credit Unions. 

The MUSCCO governance structure has a thirteen-member board of directors mandated to spearhead the strategic direction of the SACCO. The board meets annually and members have a one-year tenure of office. CEO Mr Fumbani Nyangulu directly manages a team of seven senior and middle managers.

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Enhanced Aggregation and Market Linkages among Smallholder Poultry Farmers

This project demonstrated to investors/financial institutions, donors, policymakers and smallholder farmers an alternative model for formalisation, self-financing and market linkages of poultry producer groups.

In an effort to increase competitiveness among small-scale producers, this 18-month project (July 2022 – June 2024) focused on organising 2,066 poultry farmers (including 1,550 women) in Lilongwe, Mchinji, Mzimba and Mzuzu into 106 formal commercial groups. The aim was to improve aggregation services among poultry farmers, facilitate self-financing to consolidate capital to be invested in a group poultry business through a group savings approach, and facilitate linkages to profitable offtake markets. MUSCCO also worked with the producer groups to consolidate capital to be invested in the poultry business using a group savings approach. This increased access to finance among small-scale producers, enabling them to invest in poultry activities. In addition, CASA engaged technical assistance to strengthen the technical capacity of the producer groups for consistency (volumes and quality) and growth in production, and to help them agree a clear way of working together in a group business. Furthermore, CASA provided technical support and strengthened market linkages to profitable offtake markets by improving access to information, business-to-business networks and aggregation services. The project leveraged on the synergies and networks created with earlier partners such as Amazon Poultry, who was linked to the groups as an offtaker. The total cost of the technical assistance and grant support was £58,150, of which CASA contributed £44,194.

Updated: February 2025