HISTORY OF THE CREDIT UNION
The Cocoa Research Co-operative Credit Union Limited is a merger of two credit unions namely: CRIG – Tafo Co-operative Credit Union and Bunso Co-operative Credit Union.
The CRIG – Tafo Co-operative Credit Union Limited started as a teacher’s welfare (Staff Welfare) at the CRIG Primary School, Tafo in May, 1972 by Messrs A. P. Obeng, S. D. Owiafe and Edwin Addo popularly known as Teacher Addo. The intention at that time was to use it as a support base to assist each other in times of need. However as time went by the welfare attracted the interest of other staff of CRIG other than the teachers. This led to an increment in membership.
Since the security, sustainability and growth were paramount to the success of the welfare, the pioneers decided to adapt the Co-operative Credit Union concepts that led to the recognition of the welfare by the Credit Unions Association (CUA) of Ghana. The welfare got affiliated to CUA in September, 1973 and got registered by the Department of Co-operatives in September, 1999.
Thereafter, the name, ‘Welfare’, was changed to CRIG-Tafo Co-operative Credit Union Limited. It opened its ‘Common Bond’ to allow members from the active CRIG Community and its environs to join. The Union grew in membership and was supporting its members in various societies as outlined by the Credit Union Concepts.
Bunso Co-operative Credit Union also started as welfare for workers in 1980/1981 by Mr. Martin K. Afrifa, a Chief Technical Officer and some other Technical Officers at CRIG, Bunso Substation. Mr. Samuel Amo Duodu, was made the supervisor of the Welfare. Eventually, the Bunso Co-Operative Credit Union came to stay and served a lot of workers and people in the community with a very little interest rate as compared to their competitors.
On 11th March, 2018, these two Credit Unions merged to form the Cocoa Research Co-operative Credit Union Limited (CRCCU) by the CUA merger team led by Mr. Solomon Owusu Nyarko. This was in response to proposal received from CUA encouraging all Credit Unions which are operating in close environments and under common Institutions to merge in order to increase sustainability, avoid unnecessary competition and minimize the rate of collapse of Credit Unions in the Country.
CRCCU after the merger had an eleven member Interim Management Board (IMB) and 10 Committee Members (Loans and Supervisory) were put in place to steer the management of the credit union for a period of two years with an initial asset of GHȻ12m.
