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Oeganda : EBO - 'Good things come from sweat'

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11 September 2024

The title might remind you of Club Brugge's slogan, 'No sweat, no glory', but nothing could be further from the truth. It is the literal translation of the Lugandese saying 'Ebirungi Birug'omutuutu' (EBO). EBO is the name of the savings and credit cooperative dedicated to providing financial services and training to rural farmers and entrepreneurs. With a USD 1 million loan through BRS Microfinance Coop and Alterfin, BRS is giving an additional boost to this organisation.

Rapid growth

What started as a group of three members in 1995 has grown into a cooperative with 76,500 individual members and 3,400 farmer groups. These members live across 10 districts in western Uganda. Demand for financial services (savings, credit and insurance) remains high in this region. According to an EBO internal market study, there are still more than 1 million people in need of these services.
To meet this demand, EBO is working to expand its network. This means not only opening new offices, but also a different way of working. More is being invested in digital services and the internal organisation is being made more efficient. It is also focusing on new products, such as the provision of loans and training that take climate change adaptation into account.

Cooperation with BRS: expertise and training

In 2022, BRS concluded a multi-year cooperation agreement to contribute to this development. EBO can count on expertise in computerisation, cybersecurity, business planning and risk management. In February 2024, EBO hosted the BRS-Agrifinance workshop in Mbarara, where they shared their agricultural finance knowledge and experience with organisations from Uganda and surrounding countries.
At BRS, we have great confidence in the knowledge and skills of the EBO team to realise these ambitions. While members' savings are important for expanding lending activities, they are not enough. Therefore, in 2024, BRS Microfinance Coop signed an additional agreement with Alterfin to provide a USD 1 million loan. This will enable EBO to meet the credit needs of nearly 1,000 families over the next three years.