Prasant Kumar is one of Singapore’s Gen Z (individuals born between 1997 and 2012) co-operative employees who decided to raise awareness about financial inclusivity through his work at a local credit co-operative.

“Many people go to the banks to get a loan, and they sometimes get rejected for certain reasons,” says the 27-year-old Singaporean marketing executive at TCC Credit Co-operative. “Here, we find ways to help members find financial success.”

Having studied abroad and seen the variety of co-operative offerings overseas, Mr Kumar is no stranger to the work co-operatives do. “From funeral services co-operatives to supermarket co-operatives, the ecosystem is more robust overseas,” he says. “But at their core, co-operatives work to enable members and the communities at large.”

At TCC Credit Co-operative, members can take up loans that span across education, marriage, renovation and other variety of loans. Unlike some credit co-operatives that were born from union or statutory board bodies (and thus members must be from these entities), Singaporeans and Permanent Residents can sign up to be members at TCC Credit Co-operative. 

Mr Kumar recalls a case where TCC Credit Co-operative stepped in to help a couple, whose business collapsed after being scammed by investors who suddenly backed out. The co-operative assisted the couple in paying off their debts, providing support during a time of financial distress. “We are a credit co-operative with a heart.” 

For him, advocacy on financial inclusion is about creating opportunities for folks of different walks of life to gain access to the financial system or appropriate financial solutions. It also takes on a variety of approaches. "Encouraging the formation of interest groups, like for hiking, can hep build a sense of community and belonging where members share their experience and benefits of engaging with co-operative," he says. 

A perennial challenge for co-operative marketers is finding better ways or new strategies to communicate the co-operative difference to the public. Credit co-operatives, for instance, are particularly affected by a regulator-imposed restriction that forbid them to advertise their services via mass media or in public space.

How Mr Kumar is communicating the difference is by leveraging social media and in-person events to engage their members. Through carefully crafted online campaigns, he highlights the co-operative's mission, values, and success stories, using platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to reach a younger, digitally savvy audience.

Additionally, Mr Kumar also actively participates in the events and workshops where members can connect face-to-face, share their experiences, and learn more about the benefits of being part of a co-operative. This hands-on approach not only builds trust and loyalty among existing members but also helps to attract new ones by demonstrating the tangible impact of the co-operative difference.

Part of Mr Kumar’s day-to-day operations involve analysing performance of past campaigns. This includes running customised or targeted email outreach campaigns to gather leads. His advice for co-operatives looking to better communicate the co-operative difference is to personalise outreach initiatives. “Create content in a way that it’s tailored for each audience,” he says. “My content is created in a way that it is for you; it shows that I want to help you, and I want to serve your needs.” To do so, he often adopts the A-I-DA framework, short for Attention, Interests, and Desired Actions.

“I realised members’ testimonials are helpful to convert curious on-lookers. They make good content too,” he shares. 

Established in 1928, TCC Credit Co-operative, now celebrating its 96^th anniversary, happens to be the youth’s first job straight out of college. To help him transition better from school to work, the co-operative onboarded Mr Kumar on its mentorship programme. “As a mentee, I am trained by my seniors across different functions, including technology, loan products and how I could engage our members better. We also work closely together to set SMART goals,” Mr Kumar says.

Nevertheless, to work in a co-operative with a storied history is an eye-opening experience. “What I like about working in the co-op is this sense of vibrancy we have,” Mr Kumar explained.

“I like meeting new people and networking with our members.”

Faces of Co-operator is a seasonal column featuring the stories behind co-operative employees and members. Here, we featured Mr Prasant Kumar of TCC Credit Co-operative.

Words and Photos by Sng Ler Jun