By Tikondane Vega

Lilongwe, March 7, Mana: Savings and Loan Groups in Blantyre city now have a capital of K398 million, a testimony that such groups can drive the country's economy if properly managed.

This was revealed on Thursday by Pearson Banda, who is the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for Blantyre City Council (BCC), when representatives from the Community Savings and Investment Program (COMSIP) Savings and Loan Groups in Soche West Ward, visited Chilomoni Ward on a best practices-learning visit.

Soche West Ward groups were formed from the Livelihoods Restoration for the Urban Poor - LIRUP Programme formed in 2024, while those in Chilomoni, were formed during the Covid-19 Social cash Transfer Program.

The learning visit was facilitated to see how the old group has survived years after their program concluded.

Speaking during the visit, Banda, who is also BCC COMSIP Desk Officer, said the groups continue to register successes due to several skills COMSIP has been equipping them.

“These groups are receiving much support from COMSIP and BCC hence continue to thrive like the case of Chilomoni where the Covid programme ended. I can happily say that people who are receiving social cash transfer money are investing so much at group level as well as individually.

“In the meantime, we have 145 savings and loan groups in Blantyre city with 3880 members of which the majority are women. The coming in of COMSIP has made many people have discipline on how to use money,” said Banda.

Community Facilitator for Chimwankhunda COMSIP cluster Veregia Lumbe attested that the coming in of COMSIP has changed many on how they think about business as well as money on a large scale.

She said,” We have learnt a lot in Chilomoni, and when we go back home, we will start a business as a new group that was formed in 2024. We need to have multiple sources of income, and also to change our business according to the time. These are some of the things we have learnt.

“Within seven months, as a group, we managed to raise K2.7 million, which we shared among 26 people. From January 2025, we started again, and we have K687,000 cash in the meantime. I used such money to buy a motorcycle while other members are in farming produce businesses.

Edith Matope, Community facilitator for the Chigwilizano cluster in Chilomoni, attributed their group's resilience to intensive training that COMSIP has been providing.

“Apart from individual businesses, our group makes dish wash liquid, peanut butter, and we are doing farming as a group. We currently have K6 million in our account. All these have been achieved after the programme phased out. It means we are here to stay,” she said.

Matope said the group, which started in 2021 after receiving Covid funds, has 19 members.