After growing from 2,000 to over 10,000 members in the past five years, Mr. Boachie knew GESRO needed to continue growing but faced a different set of questions related to profitable expansion and new services. Through WOCCU's International Partnership Program, Mr. Boachie reached out to Mark Rosa, CEO of Jefferson Financial Credit Union in Louisiana. After spending time at Jefferson, Mr. Bouchie invited Mr. Rosa to visit Ghana and speak at GESRO's board meeting on Monday, March 7th.
Mr. Rosa's message, GESRO could bypass many of the problems U.S. credit unions previously encountered when adopting new technologies and products. "You don't have to make the same mistakes we made," Mark Rosa advised GESRO board members as he answered a variety of questions related to car loans, telephone loan applications, and data processing systems.
Mr. Boachie, explained that while he recognized Jefferson's solutions might not specifically apply to GESRO's situation, he and his board strongly believed that Jefferson's model not only gave them the information they need to improve GESRO but also inspired them to do so. "We hold ourselves up against Jefferson. If you want to be the best you have to measure yourself against the best," said Mr. Boachie.
After the board meeting, the Mr. Rosa and Boachie made plans for key GESRO staff to visit Jefferson for further training.