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A story in six chapters · Asokoro, Abuja
4,800 people in Abuja, saving together since 1994.
Unity is a cooperative society owned by its members. We save a little every month, lend to each other at rates we vote on, buy cars and land together, and look after each other when life goes wrong. This is how it works, told the way it happened.
Chapter 01
A tin box in a staff room.
Every cooperative starts with a few people who trust each other. Ours started with twenty two, a tin box and a rule: whoever borrows pays back before anyone else borrows twice.
1994
A tin box in a staff room.
Twenty two civil servants in a ministry in Area 11 put ₦200 each into a tin box every payday. When one of them needed school fees, the box lent it, and she paid it back over six months. Nobody charged anyone a favour.
2001
A registered society.
By 2001 the box had 340 members, a written set of bylaws and a bank account in its own name. Members elected their first committee and called it Unity, because that was what had kept it going.
2014
An office in Asokoro.
The society bought its own office on Yakubu Gowon Crescent with members’ share capital. Today it is open six days a week, with eleven staff and a committee of nine volunteers.
Chapter 02
Saving together.
Every member saves every month, by salary deduction or transfer. Pooled, those savings become the money members borrow. Five plans, one habit.
4800members, from cleaners to permanent secretaries
₦3.2bnbillion naira of member savings pooled (example figure)
₦9000naira, the average monthly saving
31years of unbroken AGMs
01
Ordinary savings
The heart of membership. A monthly amount you choose, from ₦5,000, by salary deduction or transfer. It decides how much you can borrow.
From ₦5,000 a monthBorrow up to 3 times this
02Target savings
Save towards one goal over 6 to 24 months: rent, a wedding, a car deposit. Paid out on the date you set.
From ₦10,000 a monthLocked until your date
03Children’s future
School fees, saved a little at a time, paid out two weeks before each term.
From ₦2,000 a monthPaid out each term
04Festive savings
For Christmas and Sallah. Paid out two weeks before the holiday, so nobody borrows for the festival.
From ₦3,000 a monthPaid out twice a year
05Share capital
Your ownership of the society. One share is ₦20,000 and gives you a vote at the AGM.
₦20,000 a shareReturned when you leave
Example rates for this demo. Loan rates are set by members at the AGM. Any dividend is decided each year from the surplus and past dividends do not promise future ones. Savings are not a deposit with a bank.
Chapter 03
Borrowing from each other.
Members borrow from the pool at example rates that members themselves vote on at the AGM. Interest goes back to the society, so the money keeps circulating among us.
01
You ask.
Fill in the loan form online or at the office. Choose the amount and the months. The calculator tells you the monthly repayment before you commit.
02
Two members stand with you.
Two members who know you agree to guarantee the loan. It is the old tin box rule: we lend because people vouch for each other.
03
The loans committee meets every Tuesday.
Volunteers elected by members review every application. Emergency loans are decided within 48 hours.
04
Money in your account within five days.
Repayments come out of your salary or by monthly transfer. Every naira of interest goes back into the society, not to outside shareholders.
How much would a loan cost you?
Move the sliders. This is the regular loan; the full calculator covers every loan type, your savings growth and whether you qualify.
01
Regular loan
For anything that matters to you. Up to three times your savings, repaid over up to 24 months.
1.0 percent a monthUp to ₦5,000,000
02Emergency loan
For hospital bills, a burst pipe, a funeral. Decided within 48 hours.
0.75 percent a monthUp to ₦300,000
03School fees loan
Paid straight to the school, repaid over ten months.
0.5 percent a monthUp to ₦1,000,000
Try it
₦133,000 a month
Regular loan at an example rate of 1.0 percent a month on the reducing balance. You would need about ₦500,000 in savings.
Open the full calculatorChapter 04
Owning things.
A car to get to work. A solar system to stop paying for diesel. A plot of land with your name on the paper. The society buys in bulk, members pay over time.
Solar and power
Inverters, batteries and panels, installed by vetted installers.
Land and homes
Plots and two bedroom bungalows in Unity Gardens, Kuje.
I bought my first car through Unity. The repayment comes out before I can spend it.
We stopped buying diesel the month the solar went in.
My plot in Kuje is paid off. I am building in March.
Chapter 05
Looking after each other.
Part of every year’s surplus goes into a welfare fund, voted by members. It pays when a member has a baby, loses a parent, falls ill or retires.
₦48mmillion naira paid from the welfare fund last year (example)
312members helped in 2025
- Hospital support for members and their children
- Bereavement support within one week
- A gift for every new baby
- Scholarships for members’ children
Chapter 06
Your chapter.
Membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the FCT and can save from ₦5,000 a month. Joining takes about ten minutes online.
- 1
Apply online
Your details, your monthly saving and a next of kin.
- 2
Pay ₦30,000 to join
A ₦10,000 entrance fee and one ₦20,000 share, through Receivly.
- 3
Meet the membership officer
A short call or visit to confirm your details and sign your card.
- 4
Save for three months, then borrow
After three months of saving you can apply for a regular loan.
Start your chapter.
Join online in ten minutes, or visit us in Asokoro.