The Community Savings and Investment Program (Comsip) and Housing Investment and Development Cooperative (HIDCO) have into partnered in a move that will see HIDCO provide construction services to Comsip.
The two cooperatives signed an MoU on Thursday to enhance property development that will also see construction of a new shopping mall in the northen capital, Mzuzu being invested by Comsip members.
The partnership entails construction services provided by HIDCO which has a registered construction company that also makes building materials.
Comsip is one of the largest cooperatives in Malawi with over 50 000 members accross the country.
“We want our members to own property just like we see in countries like Kenya where cooperatives own property in cities and we aspire the same in Malawi,” said Chief Executive Officer of Comsip, Tennyson Gondwe.
Vice Board Chairperson of HIDCO, Andrew Likaka, says his cooperative does not only provide construction services but also building materials that are environmental friendly and will be used in the project that will primarily
Lprovide space for members’ businesses.
In the partnership, HIDCO will further render it’s services to the vast membership of Comsip which is a big market opportunity for construction service as farmers do invest massively in housing and warehouse structures.
Managing Director of HIDCO, Robert Mbeza, explained that Comsip members will also have an opportunity to access service from HIDCO that include skills on envronmentally friendly housing materials and construction, land for development in well designed residential areas in various districts in the country, among others.
Comsip is a government affiliated institution that is transforming poor rural households into commercially oriented farmers and traders, having graduated from government handouts like social cash transfer and public works program.
With the World Bank support, the cooperatives union is further orienting to self sustenance as it roots in commercial ventured, developing an asset base that emanates from members’ shareholding.
On the other hand, HIDCO is probably the fastest cooperative and is uniquely in property industry with members in both Malawi and diaspora, championing property investment by Malawians to set up high end housing infrastructure in well serviced disgnated areas the cooperative is developing.
