Development of an interactive mobile application for information sharing between sccult, member cooperatives (saccos), and other stakeholders

Abstract

The use of mobile devices and their affiliated software has brought about a very immense change in communication. From a different angle, marketing of goods and services for business entities has been made easier and better. However, it has been discovered that, to know about a specific entity one would need to have prior knowledge about it. This makes it hard for unknown entities to become reached by potential buyers. This is the case for SACCOS and SCCULT in Tanzania. The two become invisible to the consumer community due to their infamous nature, making their marketing difficult and hence, stunting their growth. Savings and Credit Cooperative Unions (SACCOS) are financial groups that provide their members with different financial services, including loans, savings, and investments. By lending capital to Small and Medium Enterprises, SACCOS have been a source of close to 94.7% employments of their members. It as well contributes up to 40% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, only less than 10% of the national population is beneficiary of the services offered by SACCOS in Tanzania. The purpose of this study was to bring to attention that most individuals do not engage with SACCOS and enjoy their easy and smooth services because they lack information. The study proved that with enough information and engagement of the SACCOS to society, many individuals could join SACCOS and enjoy their benefits. A mixed research method was used to gather information on the society’s awareness of SACCOS, their knowledge, and usage of social media, and whether they have ever encountered news about SACCOS in their social media exploration. It was discovered that more than 70% of individuals have poor or no knowledge at all about SACCOS. The study discovered that, due to a large number of content contexts in social media, SACCOS are not easily found in such a pool of information. This project resulted in the development of an interactive mobile application for information sharing between the Savings and Credit Cooperatives Union League of Tanzania (SCCULT), their member cooperatives (SACCOS), and other stakeholders including the Tanzanian society mass. This is a mobile application dedicated to sharing news with society in a broader and more relevant way. Allowing individuals to have ease of access to SACCOS’s basic information enough to help them build interest in joining them.