Connecting diaspora to their roots: Eric Igwacho, partners unveil tech-driven Pan-Africanist microfinance institution.

The new credit union, Africa Diaspora Cooperative Credit Union League, ADCCUL, which will provide an opportunity for members to save and have loans with ease, was inaugurated in the seaside town of Limbe on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

Officials said ADCCUL will provide innovative services to its members including managing their businesses, payrolls, and financing developmental projects, paying tuition, ‘njangis’, dispensing family support money, and many other services both at home and abroad. 

Addressing stakeholders during the inauguration ceremony, the President of the Board of Directors of ADCCUL, Eric Igwacho, said the credit union was unique in its ability to bridge the gap between microfinance institutions in Cameroon and their clients out of the country. 

“We are acutely aware of the unique challenges and difficulties that our diaspora brothers and sisters often face when considering managing their financial investments back home,” Igwacho said. 

He noted that Africans in the diaspora face challenges like geographical distance, lack of transparent and accessible, channels resulting in missed investment opportunities in Africa by Africans in the diaspora. He said ADCCUL would address such challenges. 

“…your desires for a reliable, secure, efficient, transparent, and accountable microfinance that truly reflects the modern financial landscape will be met,” Igwacho noted. 

Guided by the motto, "Efficiency, integrity, accountability", he said the institution, led by its Board of Directors, has a vision that embraces cutting-edge technology as a cornerstone of its operations. 

Igwacho revealed that the microfinance institution would be deploying a brand new, groundbreaking digital banking software provided by Cameroon Cooperative Credit Union League, CamCCUL, for their bankin g services, allowing customers to join and use the platform from the comfort of their homes from any part of the world. 

“…ADCCUL will bridge the financial gap in society, while empowering its home and diaspora members,” he disclosed.

CamCCUL GM salutes vision of ADCCUL 

Meanwhile, the General Manager of CamCCUL, Dr Tienchou Jonas, said he was proud that ADCCUL was born not just out of strategy, but also out of a necessity to adapt, to evolve, and to lead, as the financial landscape grows more complex and interwoven with technology, sustainability, and social responsibility. 

Dr Tienchou added that the new credit union, in their line of affiliates, would serve as a catalyst for solutions that are agile, intelligent, and deeply impactful.

He said CamCCUL would provide leadership and guidance to ensure economic stability, social welfare as ADCCUL champions innovation to empower businesses, entrepreneurs, and ecosystems with the tools and support needed by businesses to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Dr Tienchou encouraged the board and management of the new credit union to lead with purpose, listen with humility and act with courage to ensure customers serve and borrow to grow their businesses. 

In this light, he called on entrepreneurs, innovators, small businesses and change-makers to entrust their resources with ADCCUL, given its credibility.

Fako chiefs fully endorse new investment

The inauguration of the microfinance institution at Nambeke Street in Limbe was a rare opportunity for Fako Chiefs, led by the President of the Fako Chief’s Conference, the Paramount Chiefs of Buea and Limbe and other traditional rulers in the Division to show their support to such a massive investment. 

The chiefs turned out in droves to welcome such an initiative that will provide employment opportunities for sons and daughters of the Division.

ADCCUL was born in August 2023, at a meeting held at Gilgal Tower, during the maiden visit to Cameroon of Dr Umar Johnson Ifatunde, a renowned Pan Africanist based in the USA. 

The Pan Africanist expressed the need for African countries to develop assimilation programmes to assist their children in the diaspora to return home. The minimum amount required to open an ADCCUL account is 100,000 FCFA.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3469 of Tuesday June 10, 2025