Liberia


Credit Union Revitalization
 

The Microlead Liberia Program, funded by UNCDF and implemented from 2013 – 2016, resulted in the construction of four regional credit unions to expand outreach to rural unbanked Liberians throughout the country through points of service and group outreach. By March 2016, the four regional credit unions had established their headquarters offices with modern banking halls, eight branch offices and 14 points of service, covering 14 of Liberia’s 15 counties.

The credit unions reached 6,436 individuals, including 427 groups such as Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA), cooperatives, schools and small businesses. Outreach to these groups, ranging in size from 25 to 35 members, with some groups reaching 150 individuals, increased the growth potential of the regional credit unions. In working with village savings and loan associations (VSLAs), inroads were made in reaching female participants.

In addition, the passage of credit union regulations was a critical program achievement, providing a path toward sustainable credit unions. When the Microlead Program began working in Liberia, the credit unions were operating without a regulatory system to provide safety and soundness to the movement and promote streamlined operations. The program worked with the Central Bank of Liberia and other stakeholders to complete draft credit union regulations.

Signed on December 3, 2015, these regulations spelled out the requirements and the prudential standards for the credit unions to be licensed provide local stakeholders with a clear path forward in building on the foundation laid by the program.

2017-July-19

Case Study: Credit Union Revitalization in Liberia

UNCDF/MicroLead  Case Study: Credit Union Revitalization in Liberia presents how WOCCU and four regional credit unions rebuilt community trust and expanded access to finance.

2017-June-27

The Future of Microlead

Examining the importance of savings mobilization and digital finance to further expand access to the unbanked, especially to rural women—based on lessons learned from our UNCDF programs in Rwanda and Liberia.

TSCU Liberia Proves Even Small Credit Unions Can Offer Mobile Money

Becoming an agent is one of the simpler methods credit unions can utilize to enter the digital finance arena. In this model, the credit union acts as an agent for a digital service provider (often an mobile network operator) and offers the provider’s products and services through the credit union’s own branch network. But is your credit union too small to take advantage of agent banking?
“Small” didn’t stop WOCCU member TSCU Liberia from joining the mobile revolution.

Read more about TSCU Liberia’s path to digital with the step-by-step toolkit from UNCDF/MicroLead: Be an Agent

 3,459 credit union members in Liberia