World Council of Credit Unions’ delegation visits Dominica

Roseau, Dominica: The President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Dr. Brian Branch will lead a delegation comprising of eight Chief Executive Officers from the Indiana Credit Union systems on a historic visit to Dominica.

The visit is part of WOCCU’s efforts to assist the credit union movement and by extension, the Commonwealth of Dominica recover and rebuild resilient systems through technical empowerment.

WOCCU was instrumental within two months of Dominica being devastated by the worse natural disaster to hit the region- Hurricane Maria- to raise in excess of US$100,000 through its Caribbean Disaster Relief Fund to assist the credit unions rebuild its infrastructure.

WOCCU also partnered with the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) in providing support to the Government of Dominica with the provision of tents and chairs to assist in the reopening of schools.

Manager of the Dominica Co-operative Societies League Ltd. Mr. Phoenix Belfield highlighted the significance of this visit by drawing reference it timeliness.

“The credit union movement’s ability to build nimble and relevant systems, implement critical techniques and develop optimum customer service experience while attending to its strategic priorities is bolstered by this timely visit to Dominica by Dr. Branch and his team” He further stated “ the fact that Dr. Branch and his team of CEOs from the Indiana Credit Union system would see the importance of visiting Dominica at this critical juncture epitomes the credit union’s core value of co-operation among co-operators and for this we are eternally grateful,” he said.

The team will be facilitating a Strategic Empowerment Workshop for Credit Union staff and volunteers of the movement from September 26-28, 2018. The Workshop which will focus on Strategic Agricultural Lending, Micro Finance-local and Adaptation Practices, Financial Positions and Risk Analysis, Strategic Planning among others. More than fifty (50) senior management staff and volunteers are expected to benefit from the intense three-day strategic workshop.

Dr. Branch served the World Council in various capacities including Economist, Manager of Research and Development, Regional Manager for Latin America, Director of Technical Services, Vice- President of Development Services and Executive Vice-President and COO. He has worked with credit unions, microfinance and other financial institution services for more than 30 years. Dr. Branch has developed programs to update and expand the savings based financial services of credit unions worldwide.

World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services.

World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions’ financial performance and increase their outreach.

World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 89 countries worldwide with affiliations of 68,882 credit unions in 109 countries serving 235 million people.