providing financial services to the poor This is a description of the two main activities/programmes that will be supported by Agriterra in 2012: 

Mutual Aid Services (micro-insurance)
NEFSCUN Mutual Aid is a co-operative based financial security system. It is aimed at pooling resources among members those are excluded from formal social protection mechanism under co-operative principles & values. In 2012 we plan to expand services reaching bigger SACCOS, and having sold over 5000 policies reaching breakeven point. CSP policies, in 2013 this will be 7700and in 2014 this must be 9700 policies. We will do this by providing active follow-up by visiting those SACCOS that have received orientation, expressed interest in providing CSP to their members, and focusing the programme in the bigger saccos who have larger number of members to this date already 88 SACCOS signed the MoC (memorandum of Cooperation) and 66 SACCO started selling and/or sales promotion. CSP will be promoted as complementary service to traditional savings and credit services and part of the financial solutions SACCOS can provide to their members. 

Microfinance 
NEFSCUN’s microfinance is based upon Credit Union Microfinance Innovation (CUMI) method. Which aims to provide sustainable financial services to the poor by promotion of savings, provision of affordable terms of loans, entrepreneurship development training and providing general credit union financial solutions to the poor.
Focused on the long-term well-being CUMI offers many advantages to the low-income poor, integrating low-income members into the mainstream of the society by contribution to their wealth building capacity. CUMI is the component in Micro finance services focusing on Women Entrepreneurs within the CUMI/microfinance groups. By the end of 2012 we want to enroll a cumulative 100,000 low income members, mainly women. This means an additional 24.380 (90% Female) new members for 2012.

Our core services are: 
1. Central Finance Facility Interlending (CFFI), 
2. Training and Education
3. NEFSCUN Mutual Aid (‘micro-insurance’), 
4. Stationery services.
5. Cooperative Banking Software Solutions
6. Microfinance services

CFFI was initiated in 1996 and its objective is to provide share, savings and loan facilities to member SACCOS. Through Training and education services NEFSCUN aims to strengthen the capacity of SACCO's staff and leaders which must lead to improvement of performance of the SACCOS operations. 

NEFSCUN Mutual Aid is a co-operative based financial security system. It is aimed at pooling resources among low-income members, who are excluded from formal social protection mechanism, under co-operative principles & values. Through our stationary services we provide all required materials for registration of SACCOS data as well as educational publications and posters, by ordering stationary centralize we can provide materials at reduced rate to our members. Cooperative Banking Software Solutions aims to assist SACCOS in digitalizing their operations and increasing efficiency in serving their members with up-to date account data, software also serves to provide fast and up-to date statements and management reports. Since most of the individual members are low-income people there is a big demand for microfinance services, we promote and capacitate the SACCOS to provide these services to existing and new members on the basis of the CUMI methodology.   

In September 2009 NEFSCUN committed itself, in front of the annual Forum of the Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU), to reach, in the period from 2010-2012, 100,000 low income people (of which 80% women) with our microfinance services and contribute to building their wealth. We plan to do this by providing microfinance services applying the Credit Union Microfinance Innovations (CUMI) methodology (for more about CUMI methodology, see box under chapter 3, Objective 1). In 2012 we plan to provide CUMI based microfinance services to 25000 new members.    

Apart from our core business NEFSCUN is working in the following fields: advocacy & networking, policy support, Microfinance and business development services, ACCESS branding, financial intermediation, alternative energy promotion and organizing its resources to become a recognized information center for savings and Credit Cooperatives in Nepal.

We are putting our utmost efforts to Credit Union development in Nepal. We realize that there remains much work to be done. We have ambitious objectives for ourselves and our members. These include: providing additional services, capacity strengthening, diversifying our existing products & services, strengthening monitoring & supervision, implement computerized grading system and increasing our membership base. Our goals are ambitious but with the help of our members & development partners we know we can achieve them. 

Agriterra is requested to support especially the mutual aid and CUMI programme in 2012 (as in previous years)

Expanding Mutual Aid services and reaching break even point in this business and expanding microfinance services to a total of 100.000 women.