Doreen Rutazaana, the chief executive officer of Cinnamon Solutions, said together with UCC, they will help fishing communities around Lake Victoria digitise financial records, especially those under community savings groups.
Members of 11 village saving groups at Masese and Wairaka landing sites in Jinja district have been trained to utilise digital tools to promote the saving cultures at the grassroots level.
The October 5th training featured groups such as A-one, Bamboo Fishermen, Bageye Savings Group, Kamu Kamu Fish Traders, Masese Fish Mongers, Masese Fish Traders Association, Mukene Womens’ Traders Association and Wairaka Landing Site Cage Fish Farmers Association.
The others were Kwagala Kwa Mukama Savings and Loans Group, Masese Fishermen, Kisima II Development group and Bakyala Kwagalana.
The training was carried out by Cinnamon Solutions, a local ICT company in partnership with Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) under the Uganda Communications Universal Service and Access Fund (UCUSAF) project.
Doreen Rutazaana, the chief executive officer of Cinnamon Solutions, said together with UCC, they will help fishing communities around Lake Victoria digitise financial records, especially those under community savings groups.
“As an organisation, we support Investment clubs to manage their operations using software. That is why we have given away tablets to different village savings and loan associations (VSLA) groups. Today’s activity is a highlight of the transformation we seek in the underserved communities here in Jinja,” Rutazaana said.
She added that the project aims to support ICT solutions that address societal challenges in unserved and underserved areas of Uganda.
Rutazana applauded the fishing communities for using the Cinnamon app to manage their financial records, explaining that the platform automates financial processes, replacing outdated paper-based record-keeping methods that were prone to issues such as fraud and delayed payments.
Beneficiaries speak out
Sarah Naigaga a resident of Wairaka and a member of Kwagala kwa Mukama Saving Group, said in the past women had been left behind as far as financial inclusion is concerned, adding that the Cinnamon app has enabled her to get instant updates about her savings and the transactions made by her group.
Stephen Munyigwa from Wairaka Cage Fish Farmers Group said before the training, he used to spend every coin he earned from fishing, but after getting the training, he managed to save and started his own fish farming cage with sh4m.
Elimino Atto Lakwena, another trainee, said saving through the platform has helped her to raise school fees for her children and take care of other needs.
Full story: https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/jinja-masaka-buikwe-fishermen-get-digital-sav-NV_197838