Kilimanjaro bank turns a profit - and changes lives

Thursday 8th November 2007

An ethical bank in the Kilimanjaro town of Moshi is starting to turn a healthy profit as well as help some of the poorer members of Tanzanian society, according to reports in Ecumenical News International.

The Uchimi Commercial Bank (UCB) was formed in 2003 by the Lutheran Church in the town, and currently 330,000 members of the church in Tanzania own the bank. The bank’s aims were to charge a lower rate of interest to its customers – many of whom are poor farmers from the local area who survive on less than a dollar a day – and to use the money they receive to invest in ethical projects. Conservatively hoping that they would turn a profit within five years, after just 15 months they were out of debt and running at a profit.

According to Arthur Shoo, a member of the Lutheran Church in Tanzania, “Lives are changing. With loans, the people are buying better dairy animals, which they keep for milk. They are also refurbishing their houses. They are also able to send their children to school since they can access loans for education.”

Regardless of one’s views regarding the church getting involved in such a commercial institution as a bank, it is to be hoped that the UCB continues to perform well and change the lives of those living on the breadline in Tanzania.

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