CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance Good and Bad Practices: Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives, Case Study No. 8
This paper details the growth of the Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (MUSCO) and lists the lessons learned from its experience. MUSCO was founded to channel support to the Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) of Malawi that offered savings services to people who were not serviced by commercial banks.
The paper presents the lessons learned regarding organizational structures, distribution, claims verification, decentralization, product design, and actuarial reviews. Other lessons focus on local context, pre-emptive nutrition and health activities.
This paper was commissioned by the “Good and Bad Practices in Microinsurance” project. Managed by the ILO’s Social Finance Programme for the CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance, this project is jointly funded by SIDA, DFID, GTZ, and the ILO. The major outputs of this project are:
- A series of case studies to identify good and bad practices in microinsurance.
- A synthesis document of good and bad practices in microinsurance for practitioners based on an analysis of the case studies. The major lessons from the case studies will also be published in a series of two-page briefing notes for easy access by practitioners.
- Donor guidelines for funding microinsurance.