CREDIT UNIONS: A POVERTY REDUCTION TOOL IN GHANA

The main objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Corporative Credit Unions in poverty reduction. The study examined the potency of Credit Unions’ philosophy and practices in helping members, hence the society to effectively deal with poverty reduction. Fifty four questionnaires were administered to selected members of Redemption Cooperative Credit Union in Accra. The study revealed that members of the Credit Union benefited positively, however, the benefits fall short of the expectations of members due to some challenging factors. These factors include school fees, medical expenses, funeral expenses, rent advance, land and building, and acquisition of vehicles. These militating factors which may be common to most if not all of the Credit Unions, if addressed properly, would put Credit Unions at a pedestal of being one of the most effective tools in poverty reduction. The credit unions were able to meet most of these challenges of members with educational and working capital being the highest; the lowest was loans for means of transport. It was found out that all (100%) of the respondents agreed that credit unions have significant impact on standard of living of their members.