Amigos Cooperative Offers Loans up to 200,000 Br for Entrepreneurs Using Salary Collateral

Amigos Savings & Credit Cooperative is offering loans up to 200,000 birr for entrepreneurs using salaries as collateral. With a maximum repayment period of two years and a 14% interest rate, borrowers must bring a guarantee with a salary of at least 20,000 birr to qualify for the maximum loan amount under this model.

According to Amigos, the loan application process takes approximately one month, and applicants are required to save 25% of the requested amount to access the funds. Both private and public employees can be used as a guarantee, while a letter from their employer is necessary, along with other required documents.

The cooperative, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, also provides loans up to 8.3 million birr, subject to traditional collateral requirements.

During the anniversary celebration, Amigos announced a half-billion-birr loan program to support entrepreneurs and businessmen seeking to expand their ventures. The cooperative plans to disburse these loans within the next four weeks.

Amigos offers a range of loan repayment terms: short-term loans extend from six months to one year, medium-term loans range from one to five years, and long-term loans can last up to ten years. Loan guarantees are based on members’ savings, wages as collateral, bank stock certificates, and other common types of collateral.

In a press invitation sent to Shega, Amigos reported that over the past decade, the cooperative has grown its membership to 5,000 and provided more than two billion birr in loans to over 25,000 borrowers.

According to data that dates back two years, there were more than 92,755 cooperatives and 131 unions operating in the country with an aggregate capital of over 18 billion birr.