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St. Francis Credit Co-operative Inc

A clear view on how to expand business

About St. Francis Credit Co-operative Inc.

St. Francis Credit Co-operative Inc. (SFCCI) has been one of the early initiators of micro credit, since 1987. SFCCI envisions a society that values the ideals of self-reliance, social justice, democracy, gender equality and sustainable development as one of the important pillars of the local economy. SFCCI has the following mission:

to institutionalize co-operativism as a way of life
to act as an agent of change among co-operatives in the province of Bulacan
to build socio-political and economic structures that eliminate poverty and foster social justice

The co-operative has around 340 regular and 160 associate members. These members are mostly micro/small producers, market and village vendors who can apply for micro loans and savings, starting around respectively peso 2,500 (Euro 35,-) and peso 45 (Euro 1). The goals of SFCCI are to create:

at least 600 active co-operative members who are fully aware and active in pursuing the vision and mission of the co-operative
a trainings center for entrepreneurship
a Comprehensive Community Managed Health Program for members and expanding to other services
a women center for empowerment

What was the assignment for the Group Programme in the Philippines?

The co-operative experienced relatively slow growth due to many factors, e.g. competition by other banks and non-active members. It wants to expand and diversify its services and business, as there is lots of potential in the area. Therefore they requested ‘European professional eyes' to assist them in seeing things more clearly. They were looking for expertise to develop a clear 5 year operational plan on how to strenghten their organisation and reach more clients. A plan on how to ensure more members and offer them a wide range of services.

The Group of European professionals consisted of Intan Vermeer (KPN), Margareth van Loenhout (LTO), Michel Steketee (FNV Bouw) and Hilco Vedders (Rabobank).

Analysis

The Group, in co-operation with Liza Ginco (general manager of SFCCI) and members of the Board, was able to speak to many important stakeholders, like customers, personnel, local government and potential clients. With a survey amongst their members the group discovered the USPs of St. Francis. Together with St. Francis the group facilitated several workshops to identify the need, the goals to achieve and the potential of St. Francis. The Board and employees of the co-operative were very willing to work together and share every single bit of information that was necessary to come up with the new strategic plan for the next years to come.

Advice

The plan, based on the new mission and vision, shows the path to achieve the goal of 2014:
-700 regular members

-1080 micro finance members

-1100 associate members

First the basic organisation has to be strengthened (stable financial situation), the internal expertise has to grow and other potential clients need to be targeted. Furthermore the co-operative could expand to other areas. For each year deliverables and tasks are identified.

Next to this strategic plan, an operational outline is provided. Key here is to ‘take the second step once the first step is completed.'

Impact on the partners

According to Liza, general manager of St. Francis, ‘the strategic plan stressed the need for the coop leadership and staff to focus. Self confidence was gained, and opportunities are given to strengthen and develop the managerial aspect of the co-operative.'

The Dutch participants stated that ‘every group member has its own expertise, which adds value to the project. The interaction was there, which influenced the speed of learning and quality of the plan delivered.'

Follow up

This is a start of a two-year partnership between SharePeople and St. Francis. Both organisations will keep in touch, and with the experts as well. After this Group Programme, an official evaluation takes place every 6 months. With this information, an Expert Programme is one of the possibilities to boost the organisation if needed. Participation in a yearly SharePeople Experience Week is also an option.