The International Cooperative Alliance is happy to welcome the Metro South Cooperative Bank (MSCB) from the Philippines as a new member and the HealthPartners Uganda (HPU) from Uganda and Land O'Lakes International Development from the United States as an associate member in July 2019.
MSCB in the Philippines is a cooperative bank for cooperatives that operates nationally to its 823 cooperative members. Their purpose:
- To carry on banking and credit services;
- To receive financial aid or loans from the government and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for and in behalf of the cooperative banks and primary cooperatives and their federations engaged in business and to supervise the lending and collection of loans;
- To mobilize savings of its member for the benefit of cooperative movement;
- To act as balancing medium for the surplus funds of cooperatives and their federations;
- To discount bills and promissory notes issued and drawn by the cooperatives;
- To issue negotiable instruments to facilitate the activities of the cooperatives;
- To issue debentures subject to the approval and under conditions and guarantees to be prescribed by the government;
- To perform banking and credit functions with individual(s) and/or the public in general.
They provide services not only to our cooperative members but to general public as well. Member-cooperatives of MSCB are also the stockholders/owner of the Bank. Member-cooperatives are not required to open savings account
HealthParners Uganda is a cooperative development organisation incorporated as a non-profit in Uganda by HealthPartners, a cooperative in the United States. Their aims are to increase access to care and improve health outcomes through the creation of locally owned, self-sustaining health cooperatives. Their cooperative development work builds upon the motivation that cooperatives have to deal with endemic disease threats, increased purchasing power of the group and leveraging a cooperative’s ability to address education and service delivery. The result expands the existing health infrastructure to include stakeholders in program design and planning and to facilitate their identification of locally sustainable solutions.
HealthPartners provides technical assistance. Health cooperative members and providers sign memorandums of understanding that detail the roles and responsibilities of their partnership. Members pay annual subscription fees and premiums directly to care providers in order to access the care they need when they need it. The model they developed currently provides health care to around 50,000 members in rural Uganda.
Land O’Lakes International Development is a non-profit cooperative development organisation formed by Land O’Lakes, a large agricultural cooperative in the United States. They help communities around the world develop their agriculture systems.
In 2016, Land O'Lakes International Development managed 17 projects in 13 countries, which were funded primarily by USDA and USAID. These projects were implemented in Africa, Asia and the Middle East through partnerships that generate inclusive economic growth, improve health and nutrition, and alleviate poverty. They aim to create lasting impact by transforming lives through agricultural partnerships that increase incomes and improve household well-being.Since inception, they have implemented nearly 300 programs and training initiatives in over 80 countries.
UPDATED MEMBER STATISTICS
The newest membership statistics are therefore:
311 member organisations of which 269 are full members and 42 are Associate Members from 109 countries.
