Introduction
I remember being young in Nigeria and wondering why lack was so loud when abundance whispered in some places. I’d see people waste what others prayed for. I didn’t have the language for it back then, but what I felt was this: there must be a way we can pool what we have.
I must have been in my late twenties when that early thought returned with new clarity. I started working and joined a workplace cooperative. It was efficient—brilliant, even. But the moment I left that job, I was locked out. No more access to the system I’d contributed to. That’s when a bigger question struck me: What if we created a cooperative society that knew no walls?
No physical limitations. No employer-bound gatekeeping. A cooperative built on trust, shared values, and technology—accessible to anyone, anywhere.
That seed gave birth to God’s Treasury Cooperative Society. But now the seed is growing. It’s time to imagine a digital cooperative system that’s secure, borderless, and as easy to use as a rideshare app.
What Is a Cooperative, Really?
A cooperative is a democratized economy in motion. It’s people coming together to save, invest, lend, and grow—not just for profit, but for purpose.
According to the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), over 1 billion people globally are members of cooperatives. Together, they generate more than $3 trillion USD annually.
Why do cooperatives endure? Because they:
- Enable resource pooling and savings
- Grant credit access without predatory interest
- Build long-term ownership among members
- Thrive on solidarity over hierarchy
But here’s the problem: Most cooperatives are still analog, geographically locked, and deeply manual.
The Case for Digital Cooperatives
So what if we Uberized the cooperative experience?
Imagine an app where:
- You can join or start a cooperative based on your profession or passion
- You monitor savings, dividends, and loan status in real time
- All transactions are tracked, secured, and auditable
- Loans are processed through e-KYC and digital scoring
- Accountability is built in—via transparent ledgers and peer ratings
The Rider = You, the member
The Driver = The cooperative
The App = The secure digital interface
The Rating = Audits and real-time transparency
This is not futuristic. It’s overdue.
Why This Matters in Africa
Africa has over 300 million unbanked adults. And yet, informal savings clubs—ajo, esusu, susu—remain common. We already believe in the power of pooling. What we lack is scalable structure and trust infrastructure.
But here’s the twist: The obstacle isn’t just technology. It’s trust.
Too many have been defrauded. We’ve heard the horror stories—community funds disappearing, chairpersons absconding. So how do we prevent that?
- With blockchain for transparency
- With identity verification for credibility
- With audit trails and reporting tools
- With smart contracts that lock funds until conditions are met
Global Models That Work
1. India – Sahakar Pragya
India’s cooperative system supports over 150 million people. Their digitization journey—powered by the National Cooperative Development Corporation—now enables online services for farmers, weavers, and entrepreneurs.
2. Kenya – M-PESA SACCO Integration
Over 14 million Kenyans use SACCOs (Savings and Credit Co-operatives), many through M-PESA. People can save, borrow, and repay—all from their phones.
3. Philippines – KAYA by NATCCO
The KAYA platform lets co-op members access ATMs, mobile banking, and digital credit tools. In 2021, they moved over ₱1.5 billion digitally.
And yet, the question burns: Why not Nigeria?
What Are the Benefits of a Digital Cooperative?
1. Borderless Access
Diaspora members can invest, save, and earn dividends back home—with oversight.
2. Scalability
Serve 10 or 10,000 members with the same infrastructure.
3. Real-Time Oversight
Members see what’s happening with their funds—instantly.
4. Democratized Loans
Loans can be processed based on contribution history, not elite access.
5. Built-In Trust Systems
Audits, alerts, role-based permissions, and smart contracts protect everyone.
6. Data-Driven Decision Making
With analytics, you can predict defaults, optimize returns, and track impact.
What If We Don’t Do It?
Let me tell you a story.
In 2022, a cooperative in Ghana collapsed. It had over 10,000 contributors. The books were manually kept. No audits. No digital trail. One day, the chairperson vanished. So did ₵5.2 million cedis. And the members—widows, traders, youth—were left with nothing.
This is the price of opacity.
So What’s Holding Us Back?
- Technology? No.
- Vision? We’ve got it.
- Integrity? That’s where we must build muscle.
We need systems that assume risk exists—and are designed to contain it. That’s the architecture of trust.
The Next Step: A Call to Movement
If you’ve ever felt what I felt—that there must be more we can do together than alone—then this is your invitation.
Let’s prototype a borderless cooperative model. Let’s build the Uber of trust. Let’s scale shared wealth in a way that’s trackable, equitable, and sustainable.
If you’re a developer, a dreamer, a diaspora Nigerian, or a disillusioned ex-member of a failed co-op—join us at God’s Treasury Cooperative Society.
We’re not just dreaming. We’re building.Let the next generation say: they didn’t wait for systems to change—they built new ones.
