Training of Village Community Bank (Vicoba) Groups in Njombe Township Ward
VICOBA model which exists today in Tanzania originated in Niger under the name of MMD model (Mata Masu Dubara) which roughly translates as ‘women on the move’. The model was formed specifically to empower women economically. The model was later adopted by other countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Uganda and Eritrea. In Tanzania the model was modified and adapted by Social and Economic Development Initiation of Tanzania (SEDIT) in the year 2002 and named Village Community Banks (VICOBA). Village community Banks in Njombe Township Ward were introduced in 2008. VICOBA in Njombe Township Ward has formed an umbrella organization called Saving, Loan and Credit (SILC).The SILC is an umbrella of ten VICOBA groups with 300 members, each group has 30 members. The objective of VICOBA groups was to supplement the income of its members by provision of soft loan to group members. Group members are encouraged to mobilize resources each week, organize regular business training sessions especially on income generating activities. Participatory Need Assessment, in Njombe Township Ward was conducted in January 2011, for the purpose of gathering information about Village Community Bank group’s opinions, needs, challenges and assets. In this assessment VICOBA group members participated fully in the various discussions. The Community Needs Assessment led to the formulation of the project called “Training of Village Community Bank groups in Njombe Township Ward”. The project was implemented by conducting training to group leaders and group members on leadership and group management skills and entrepreneurship skills, business and financial management skills respectively.
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