Corporate One FCU Sends IT Manager to Bolivia to Install Network at WOCCU Office

Corporate One's John Elden works on WOCCU-Bolivia's new server.

Madison, WI – Last week, a new high-tech network system was installed at the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (WOCCU) office in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The installation of the network makes WOCCU-Bolivia a central financial facility, fulfilling one of the goals of the partnership agreement between Bolivia and Ohio. Participating representatives included, Steve Schaefer, WOCCU technical officer to Latin America and the Caribbean; John Elden, IT systems operations manager of Corporate One Federal Credit Union (Ohio); and Julio Fernandez, project director of WOCCU-Bolivia.

Two servers connect 33 credit unions in remote locations all over Bolivia to a centralized data network housed in the WOCCU-Bolivia office. Corporate One, in partnership with WOCCU-Bolivia, developed the software needed for this network at no cost to the project. Because of their efforts, credit unions in Bolivia will now be able to send transfers from one credit union to the other via a website called "ServiRed." A family living in one rural area will be able to easily and inexpensively transfer money to other family members in another rural area; a man working in the city can wire money to his wife living in the country.

Further, all workstations in the office are now networked to each other so that it will be easier for staff to share files and collaborate on projects.

"We could not have moved as quickly and efficiently without the help of Corporate One," said Schaefer. "Their involvement in the development of the network software and the installation of the servers is an immeasurable contribution to the credit unions of Bolivia. In short, they have been fantastic!"

"The Ohio Credit Union League is thrilled with the progress made because of the efforts of our partners at Corporate One FCU," added John Florian, the League's Chief Operating Officer. "We are also looking forward to having Sue Helmreich and Kathy Kanipe travel to Bolivia in January to further assist the project."

The partnership between WOCCU-Bolivia, the Ohio Credit Union League, and Corporate One Federal Credit Union began in February of 2003. Both the Ohio League and Corporate One have contributed considerable time and resources to the partnership since its inception and have been instrumental in the success of the WOCCU-Bolivia project.

El Consejo Mundial de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito es la asociación gremial y agencia de desarrollo para el sistema internacional de cooperativas de ahorro y crédito. El Consejo Mundial promueve el crecimiento sustentable de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y otras cooperativas financieras en todo el mundo a fin de facultar a las personas para que mejoren su calidad de vida a través del acceso a servicios financieros asequibles y de alta calidad. El Consejo Mundial realiza esfuerzos de defensa activa en representación del sistema global de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito ante organizaciones internacionales y trabaja con gobiernos nacionales para mejorar la legislación y la regulación. Sus programas de asistencia técnica introducen nuevas herramientas y tecnologías para fortalecer el desempeño financiero de las cooperativas de ahorro y crédito y profundizar su alcance comunitario.

El Consejo Mundial ha implementado 290 programas de asistencia técnica en 71 países. A nivel mundial, 51,000 cooperativas de ahorro y crédito en 100 países atienden a 196 millones de personas. Obtenga más información sobre el impacto global del Consejo Mundial en www.woccu.org.