KATHMANDU: Nepal Federation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives Union Limited (NEFSCUN) will hold the ‘NEFSCUN microfinance summit conference’ at Banepa on November 20 for the first time to meet the target of economic empowerment of women with low income sources.

NEFSCUN has been registered in accordance with the Cooperatives Act 2048 BS and has till date about 384 savings and credit cooperatives affiliated to it. “The federation is a member of ACCU and WOCCU. Apart from it, it is also associated with CICTAB, which is an international training centre supporting agricultural banking at the SAARC level,” said NEFSCUN chief executive officer Kuber Niraula.

About 350,000 members are associated with the federation that has net capital worth Rs three billion. The federation has invested in various productive sectors to creat employment opportunities and empower women financially for economic stability, said Niraula.

He added that the federation started microfinance programmes in 2058 BS and 135 savings and credit cooperatives have become part of it.

NEFSCUN has been able to collect deposit worth Rs 790 million, which has been utilized for microfinancing the members.