The Adventist Heritage Co-operative Fund Limited (AHCoF), a development fund of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, in the 2023 financial year recorded a surplus of GH¢2.7 million driven by strategic investments.
Consequently, the Fund declared a total dividend of GH¢644, 797 to be paid to shareholders.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the fund, Mrs Elizabeth Kusi-Nsiah, who disclosed this at the Fund’s maiden Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra last Tuesday, said the dividend for the 2023 financial year represented 25 per cent of surplus made by the fund for the period under review.
Presenting the 2023 reports and financial performance of the fund, she said the surplus recorded in 2023 was 40 per cent more than what was realised the previous year.
The CEO said the fund’s total assets increased to GH¢ 103,797,800 at the end of 2023 compared to GH¢ 85,116,874 recorded in the previous year.
She said the income of the fund rose to GH¢ 13,720,669 in 2023 from GH¢ 11,198,903 in 2022, driven by savings of members.
The CEO explained that the savings of the fund increased to GH¢78, 613, 335.53 in 2023 from GH¢62, 861,198.10 in 2022.
Mrs Kusi-Nsiah said the total operational expenses rose marginally to GH¢10,993,422 in 2023 from GH¢8,113,610 in 2022.
According to the CEO, a total of GH¢511,115 was spent on Corporate Social Responsibility programmes including support to the various conferences, churches, hospitals, and schools.
She explained that under the same year the fund attracted about 638 new members increasing the membership to 3,187 with a non-shareholders strength of 5,297.
“Although managers of the fund recognised the economic challenges plaguing the nation and the financial industry, the fund had been able to maintain and even exceeded their financial goals due to the strategic investment, decision and dedication to prudent measures,” Mrs Kusi-Nsiah.
The CEO indicated that the fund was established in 2009 as a SDA Workers Fund to cultivate the spirit of savings for them to be financially independent.
She said that the Fund had grown and membership had expanded to include all members of the church.
Acting Registrar, Department of Co-operatives, Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), Kwabena Yeboah Apraku, urged cooperatives to enhance the financial literacy of their members to enable them to make informed financial decisions.
Mr Apraku said the primary function of cooperatives financial institutions was to support their members in forms of loans at relative low interest rate, while enjoying competitive financial services.
“Cooperatives financial institutions offer lower interest rate on loans and competitive financial services but also contributes to the well-being of shareholders than the traditional banks,” he added.
The acting Registrar indicated that, cooperative sectors could support employment creation by employing youths as staff, finance youths business or by supporting youth to access business markets among others.
As part of the programme, AHCoF inaugurated the newly renovated office building donated by the Southern Ghana Union Conference to be used to run the day-to-day operations of the fund.
During the programme, the shareholders agreed and adopted the fund by-laws and subsequently approved the dividend payment proposed by the Board of Directors.
BY VICTOR A. BUXTON
