Shifting the power from donor dependence to community Investment-MIHOSO shows the way
MIHOSO International Foundation has for more than a decade, empowered more than 300 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) across rural communities in the Kintampo South District of the Bono East Region.
The NGO has provided thousands of women and vulnerable households with access to savings and small loans where formal financial services are unavailable.
MIHOSO is a human rights and social development organization committed to improving the lives of women, youth, and children through public health education, sanitation and hygiene promotion, livelihood empowerment, organizational development, evidence-based advocacy, and capacity strengthening.
These groups became an important pathway to economic empowerment and community resilience.
COVID-19 Impact
However, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant weaknesses within the VSLA network. Many groups struggled with weak leadership, poor financial record-keeping, loan defaults, theft, inadequate supervision, and exploitation by external financial institutions.
As these challenges intensified, nearly 200 savings groups collapsed, threatening the many years of community investment and leaving many women without reliable financial support.
Rather than allowing these gains to disappear, MIHOSO saw an opportunity to reimagine community finance.
Through Shift Power Project
Mr Thomas Benarkuu, the Chief Executive Officer of MIHOSO explained that through the foundation’s ‘Shift the Power Project’, the organization used the redesign phase to develop a long-term, locally owned financial sustainability model.
He explained that MIHOSO participated in the Civil Society Strengthening Fund – Shift the Power (CSSP–StP) project led by the STAR-Ghana Foundation with support from the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI).
The eight-year initiative is supported by Comic Relief and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Project Overview and Goals
Core Focus
The project sought to Strengthen local civil society organizations (CSOs) to drive community-led development and financial sustainability.
MIHOSO’s Role
According to Mr Benarkuu, MIHOSO’s role in the project implementation was to build local organizational resilience, public health education, and livelihood empowerment, including establishing cooperative credit unions and village savings groups.
The Credit Union
Instead of relying solely on external donor funding, MIHOSO worked with community members to consolidate the savings groups and establish the MIHOSO Cooperative Credit Union.
Today, the Credit Union operates as a registered non-bank financial institution under Ghana’s Department of Cooperatives, providing members with a secure, transparent, and professionally managed platform to save, borrow, invest, and build financial resilience.
More importantly, ownership of this institution rests with the communities themselves.
Transforming Lives Through Community Investment
The results achieved within just one year demonstrate the power of locally driven solutions.
Since it was launched in July last 2025, the credit union has successfully revived 81 previously collapsed VSLAs, strengthened 71 existing savings groups, and facilitated the formation of 13 new groups, restoring confidence in community-based financial systems.
Beneficiaries
Through the Shift the Power Project, the initiative has directly reached 3,825 beneficiaries, comprising 2,868 women (85%), 957 men, 2,486 youth, 1,339 adults, and 35 persons with disabilities, all between 18 to 75 years.
Financial Inclusion
Access to finance has also improved significantly.
Within its first year, the credit union disbursed approximately GHS 450,000 in loans to members, while the affiliated savings groups collectively provided more than GHS2 million in internal loans.
Membership
Mr Benarkuu explained that the membership of the credit union has also grown rapidly from 800 to 1,942 active customers, while shareholder membership increased from 72 to 139, reflecting growing trust and confidence in the institution.
Transformative Stories
Behind these numbers are stories of transformation.
Most indigenous women within the credit union’s catchment area who were previously excluded from formal financial services said they were now feeling the positive impacts.
Some of them attested that they can now pay their children’s school fees, expand existing businesses, establish new enterprises, improve housing, respond to family emergencies like hospitalization and invest in more secure livelihoods.
They expressed appreciation to the MIHOSO International Foundation, NGO for introducing the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in the area.
The beneficiaries testified that the VSLAs, which had now grown into the credit union, had not only impacted their lives economically, but also strengthened their marriages, justifying that they could now contribute significantly in meeting the daily needs of their families.
According to them they were initially excluded from accessing formal financial services, saying that they were now happy because the credit union had offered them the opportunity to save.
Madam Winifred Bekwee, said that with the little savings she could now pay for her children’s school fees, saying that: “I can now see that my husband is also happy with me”.
For Mad Rita Nyane, a petty trader, she accessed financial support from the credit union to expand her business which had enabled her to pay utility bills, as her husband provided other upkeeps of the family.
She said she and her family were grateful to the MIHOSO foundation for enlightening and inculcating in them the culture of savings.
Mad Cynthia Adungule, a seamstress and a mother of five children said that her marriage nearly collapsed because of financial troubles.
She added that a loan she collected from the credit union had enabled her to expand her business and now operate from a ‘container’.
In fact, access to affordable credit has restored dignity, strengthened household resilience, and created opportunities that were previously beyond reach.
A Lasting Shift in Power
The Shift the Power Project extended beyond creating a financial institution, it fundamentally changed how MIHOSO approaches development.
With support from STAR-Ghana Foundation and WACSI, MIHOSO strengthened its internal fundraising capacity, engaged traditional authorities and local stakeholders, and mobilized community resources to sustain development initiatives.
Communities were no longer viewed merely as beneficiaries of aid but as co-owners, decision-makers, and investors in their own future.
The transformation represents a genuine shift from donor dependence toward community ownership and locally led development.
Decisions are increasingly shaped by the people most affected, while local resources are being mobilized to sustain progress beyond the lifespan of individual projects.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, MIHOSO’s experience demonstrates that sustainable development is strongest when communities own the process, invest in the solutions, and lead implementation.
When power shifts to local people, development becomes more resilient, more accountable, and more sustainable.
The MIHOSO Cooperative Credit Union stands as lasting evidence that community investment can outlive donor funding, ensuring that the benefits of today’s interventions continue to create opportunities for generations.
By Dennis Peprah
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