Opening of the first savings and credit cooperative born from saving groups

On 1 April 2024 the savings and credit cooperative of the Focolare Movement named COOPEC-UNO in Goma was inaugurated. The celebration began with a blessing from God for the agents and the house. This was followed by a speech by the President of the Administrative Council, in which she expressed her gratitude to God and to all the founding members, supporters and benefactors for making a long-held dream come true. “It is a light in the darkness that we are experiencing here in Goma”, she said

COOPEC UNO takes its name from the Italian word “one”, which means the unity with which we work and with which we want to move forward together. It is the very first COOPEC born of savings and credit groups (AVEC) in the Congo and it wants to teach its members how to produce, save and grow money.

The 58 founding members donated their shares and the initial capital to get this bank up and running, where everyone is welcome to come and open a savings account or take out a loan. This really is a major step forward for the future of this new structure, because the basis is the unity of the group.