Credit unions contribute to improved lives wherever they operate. And credit unions operate in most places where the legal environment makes it possible for people to transact business under the protection of the law. Under those conditions, people can pool their savings and provide credit to each other in ways that improve the well-being for all. In many countries, the law specifically recognizes the cooperative business structure upon which credit unions are built. In others, cooperatives receive virtually no official recognition. The path to achieve the vibrancy and scale of the American credit union system is a long and difficult road in most countries. But the jewels of innovation can sprout anywhere. For that reason, I have always believed U.S. credit union leaders can learn much from cooperative colleagues operating under different cultures and legal systems.

In my decades-long work for the association serving Georgia credit unions, I always considered it important to expose U.S. leaders to the history, culture, economic circumstances, and operational strategies of credit unions serving people in other places. We did much of this over the years with conference presentations, suggested readings, and opinionated writings. But the most impactful learnings happened when we organized study trips to visit with credit union leaders in other places—in our case, about half in North America, the rest in Europe. Nearly to a person, participants considered these learning expeditions to be among the most enlightening and motivational experiences in their careers.

It didn’t take long for us to realize that learning is always a two-way street. And teaching is just the other side of the learning coin. If learning is two-way, it will be likewise for teaching. One of the unforeseen benefits is the two-way learning that happens within the U.S. delegation. Relationships are established that outlive the study trip. One participant put it this way:

“It was unbelievably inspiring to participate in this program. It amazes me to meet those in the co-op community from the U.S. Every person I met was extraordinary. So many diverse co-ops, yet with so much in common.”

Some of the systems we visited had better market share than the U.S. CU system—Desjardins in Quebec and Rabobank in the Netherlands to name two. Others were earlier along in system evolution—the British CU system in the UK and the SKOK system in Poland, for examples. All different, all creative in unique ways. Two-way learning/teaching happened in every case. To all, the conclusion was that these ‘other place’ interactions were inspiring. A few formal credit union partnerships blossomed in some places. But, aside from “where to next?”, most learning journeys quickly receded into pleasant memories as the pressures of tactical to-do lists at home overwhelmed good intentions to innovate based on what had been learned.

AACUC CEO Renée Sattiewhite participated in one of these learning expeditions in 2022. She quickly recognized that well-planned international learning experiences would be a great way to fulfill one of her dreams—building sustaining relationships between U.S. and African credit union people. In 2023, Renee promised leaders of the African credit union (SACCO) system that she would bring 30 American credit union leaders to their next continent-wide convention (they call it the SACCA Congress). In October of 2024, 32 people were part of the AACUC Cooperative Learning Experience, which took place in Kenya.

Participants were gathered from leadership positions across the U.S. credit union system. They learned about cooperative systems in Kenya and other sub-Saharan African countries. Idea-sharing went both ways ... across the Atlantic and within the AACUC delegation. A few were able to discuss the benefits of cooperative financial institutions with the president of Kenya. Several provided presentations at the Congress. The entire delegation participated in a significant service project at a rural boarding school for girls in central Kenya. Personal friendships and business relationships were established. Expressions of gratitude and commitments to stay in touch were common at the end of the interactions. And, AACUC is now formally connected with ACCOSCA, the association serving credit unions across the continent.

AACUC is determined to go beyond making pleasant memories. Another AACUC learning experience is planned for October of 2026, this time in Tanzania. Already, 15 from the Kenya delegation have expressed a willingness to return to Africa—to extend relationships and contribute to the growing connections between U.S. and African credit union leaders. Representatives from ACCOSCA will attend AACUC annual meetings in the U.S. AACUC is committed to leadership development and operational excellence on both sides of the ocean. Eventually, these relationships will go beyond two-way learning interactions. The over-arching objective is to enable more people to benefit from credit union service on both continents. In addition, AACUC intends to better connect credit unions with co-ops operating in other sectors of the economy. AACUC has become a world class catalyst for international cooperative growth and vitality. Like any other worthy endeavor, it all starts by building personal relationships among leaders. To that end, AACUC sets the standard.

Original article here.