Ntambeng Credit Union plugs award for poverty alleviation strides.

This was during CENPA’s maiden award ceremony held in Yaounde Thursday July 25.

The ceremony, organised at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, was attended by several government ministers, including the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng and the Minister Delegate to the Minister of External Relations in charge of Cooperation with the Commonwealth, Felix Mbayu. The Secretary General in the Ministry of Public Contracts represented his minister.

The President of the National Communication Council, NCC, Joe Chebonkeng was also in attendance.

The ceremony, placed under the distinguished patronage of the Minister of Communication, was chaired by the Secretary General of that ministry, Prof Felix Zogo. He sat in for his boss, who was unavoidably absent.

The CENPA award jury, headed by global anti-corruption campaigner and lawyer of international repute, Barrister Akere Muna, said NtamCCUL was recognised “for its uniqueness, consistency and matchless professionalism in alleviating poverty and empowering grassroots population”.

Award source of encouragement 

The Board Chair of the Ntambeng Cooperative Credit Union, Ndonwi Derrick Shu, who received the award on behalf of his organisation, has described the prize as a source of encouragement to the dedicated workers of the credit union.

The Board Chair who was accompanied to the ceremony by the credit union’s General Manager, Eveline Awah, explained that: “The recognition we have received is a booster to make us do more work”.

Ndonwi Derrick announced to reporters that: “We are digitalising Ntambeng Cooperative Credit Union and we have new products that actually depend on digitalisation. We have already started the programme. We have paid for one of the most sophisticated softwares in financial management, and we think that by the end of the year, we will be digitalised and interconnected. And once that is done, I think that with the other services that we are putting in place, we will be the best”. 

Restating the mission of NtamCCUL, the Board Chair noted that the credit union was created “to serve the poor and rural masses who were more or less, the farmers, or small business owners”.

He said: “Most microfinance institutions have deviated from that and they have become banks under cover. For Ntambeng, we try to bring back this vision by giving micro loans to farmers who may not necessarily have collaterals but they use their products as warrant which means we can actually support agricultural production and we can alleviate poverty through our services in micro lending”. 

He boasted that at the moment, Ntambeng credit union has the highest national coverage amongst credit unions with the institution operating in the ten regions of the country. 

“We may not have the highest number of branches but we have a greater coverage”, he sustained.

On August 3, 2024, he announced that the Batouri Branch in the East Region will be inaugurated.   

Within Cameroonian microfinance space, the record-breaking NtamCCUL has distinguished itself with a risen membership from 7,000 to 26,000 between 2022 and 2024, growing a balance sheet from 1.1 billion to 4.5 billion. 

Over the past two years, the category 1 microfinance structure soared from six to fourteen branches.

The branches include that in Ntambeng, Food Market Bamenda, Bonaberi-Douala, Mbopi-Douala, Limbe, Kumba, Simbock-Yaounde, Ebolowa, Batouri, Lom Mpanga, Ngoundere, Garoua, Yagua and Bafoussam.

Described as the rain of financial liberation, NtamCCUL is currently executing projects with six governmental and non-governmental organisations seeking to create an impact in the agricultural sector in Cameroon. 

On August 5, 2023, NtamCCUL was honoured by The Voice Newspaper with a “Resilience & Grassroots Supporter Award” for its flexibility and for being the number one grassroots support in poverty alleviation.

Ndonwi Derick equally was distinguished with a “Trailblazing Credit Union BoD President of the Year Award” for raising the Ntambeng Cooperative Credit Union from grass to grace and transforming the Union into a prestigious and fast-growing microfinance institution in Cameroon.

The microfinance institution has also previously been honoured with similar awards by The Scoop Media Group amongst others.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3185 of Wednesday July 31, 2024