<p>MUSCCO continues with its effort of building capacity of SACCOs and the society at large through several capacity building training program short courses and projects which some involve formation of Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) and later linking them to SACCOs. Village Savings and Loan (VSLA) is a form of savings among limited self-selected number of community based people of common economic background. This gives the members the opportunity to accessing loans for additional livelihood in a convenient manner aside bank loan. In view of this MUSCCO team lead by the Head of Cooperatives Development (CDI) Mr. Leroy Banda, engaged Polymed SACCO staff members in Blantyre to introduce to them the VSLA concept and its Management. After the engagement the members of staff will be equipped with necessary skills on how to handle groups better. Apart from the traditional payroll members, the SACCO wants to use groups engaged in various social economic activities as a sustainable way to grow the SACCO in terms of both asset and membership, hence a timely training delivered to them by the union.</p>
<p>Group linkages with formal financial institutions improves group financial performance - Savings group members seem to invest more money in their own group when they know its backed by the security of a formal savings account. One of the benefits of linking VSLA to a SACCO is that VSLA groups access bigger loans at SACCO as the loans are given to groups and not individuals within the VSLA <span>—</span>&nbsp;Leroy Banda said.<br /></p>