Umwalimu Sacco has rewarded teachers and teachers’ savings groups that demonstrated exemplary saving habits in 2025, while continuing to encourage its members to embrace a culture of saving as a pathway to financial empowerment.
The awards ceremony took place on Monday, December 29, 2025, following the Sacco’s Ordinary General Assembly, which brought together members from across the cooperative.
The General Assembly was attended by representatives from Umwalimu Sacco’s 415 management units, who jointly reviewed the cooperative’s performance over the past year, assessing achievements made in 2025 and setting priorities for 2026.
During the meeting, teachers and teacher-based savings groups that recorded the highest levels of savings in 2025 were recognized and awarded laptops and tablets.
Speaking at the event, Umwalimu Sacco’s Managing Director, Laurence Uwambaje, said the cooperative’s top priority for 2026 is to further strengthen savings in order to boost its overall growth.
“Our main objective is to continue identifying ways to mobilize sufficient funds so that we can meet members’ growing demand for loans. The first approach is to actively engage our members by encouraging them to increase their savings wherever possible,” he said.
Uwambaje noted that some categories were not awarded due to technical challenges, particularly in schools whose digital systems failed to accurately reflect all transactions processed through their accounts.
Another category that was not awarded involved institutions participating in the full salary through Umwalimu Sacco scheme.
He explained that while some schools processed large sums, not all staff were fully enrolled, while others achieved 100% participation but with relatively low amounts due to small staff numbers. These cases, he said, will be thoroughly reviewed.
Members of the General Assembly also called for intensified awareness campaigns to encourage consistent saving among members, arguing that stronger savings would increase the availability and volume of loans issued by the cooperative.
Musengimana Théophile, who represented the savings group from Kayonza Modern School, one of the awardees, said their group is made up of 39 teachers. He explained that they started saving with just Rwf 12,000 and have now accumulated more than Rwf 13 million.
“We came together as 39 teachers and agreed that there was a level we wanted to reach, and that saving was the only way to get there. Even when we seek loans, it is important to first have our own capital as a foundation,” he said.
He added that the group supports members at the end of each school term with small payouts and helps them address urgent financial needs among themselves.
Ntegerejimana Innocent, head of Ruvunga Schools Network and also among the award recipients, said his strong saving record was a result of effectively utilizing loans obtained from Umwalimu Sacco.
He noted that when he began working in education, his monthly salary was Rwf 8,000, but has since increased more than fiftyfold. He expressed gratitude to the Government of Rwanda, particularly the President, for prioritizing the welfare of teachers.
In addition to his salary growth, loans from Umwalimu Sacco enabled him to invest in farmland and livestock, making him both a farmer and a livestock keeper.
“I was fortunate that every loan I took generated returns. I bought land, and all of it proved productive. I grow various crops, including coffee, which currently fetches high prices per kilogram,” he said.
Ntegerejimana added that he also farms potatoes, bananas, and beans, alongside livestock rearing, especially cattle, providing him with income that allows him to save for his children’s education and meet school fees more easily.
In 2025, Umwalimu Sacco achieved 75 percent of its performance targets.
The total value of loans issued reached Rwf 222 billion, while the cooperative’s total assets grew by 27 percent, from Rwf 237 billion to Rwf 300 billion. Net profits also rose to Rwf 24 billion.
