Mwigulu calls for digital shift as women’s representation in SACCOS rises

DAR ES SALAAM: PRIME Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba has called on financial cooperatives to accelerate digital transformation and strengthen women’s participation in leadership, saying both are essential to building trusted, inclusive and sustainable financial institutions.

Speaking today, October 15 during the official opening of the SACCA Congress 2026 in Dar es Salaam, Dr Nchemba said technology was increasingly important in expanding access to financial services, improving transparency and reaching underserved communities.

He said Tanzania was making progress in digital financial services, with 72 per cent of adults using mobile money, according to the 2023 financial inclusion report cited in his address.

The Prime Minister also reported that Tanzania’s SACCOS had established 231 mobile money agency arrangements, while five SACCOS offered mobile applications.

He added that services provided through mobile applications and USSD platforms had registered nearly 119,000 users and processed 3.5 million transactions.

Despite the progress, he said only slightly more than one in four SACCOS had a core banking system, highlighting the need for further investment in digital infrastructure.

Dr Nchemba urged cooperative institutions to adopt technology that would make financial services more accessible to farmers, entrepreneurs, women and young people while improving operational efficiency.

He, however, cautioned that digitalisation must go hand in hand with stronger cybersecurity, data protection and consumer confidence to ensure that members’ savings and personal information remained secure.

“The cooperative movement of the future must be both digital and trusted, delivering opportunities securely to every African and every member,” he said.

On women’s participation, the Prime Minister said women’s representation in Tanzania’s SACCOS had increased from 29.7 per cent to 32.5 per cent.

He said the progress demonstrated the growing role of women in financial cooperatives, while calling for continued efforts to promote inclusive leadership and ensure that women participated meaningfully in decision-making.

Dr Nchemba emphasised the importance of transparency in financial matters within households and cooperative institutions, noting that trust and accountability were essential to protecting members and ensuring that financial resources served their intended purposes.

He also called for stronger governance, professional management and effective supervision, warning that non-performing loans stood at 8.1 per cent, above the desired threshold of five per cent.

He said financial cooperatives needed to confront such challenges openly and strengthen their institutional capacity to protect members’ savings and maintain public confidence.

The Prime Minister further highlighted the need to expand young people’s participation in the sector, noting that SACCOS members below the age of 36 had increased by 22 per cent in one year and accounted for 37 per cent of membership.

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However, he said young people accounted for only 11 per cent of board members, underscoring the need to give them greater opportunities to participate in leadership.

He called on cooperative leaders to combine digital innovation with good governance and inclusive participation to ensure that financial cooperatives remained relevant to the changing needs of their members.

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