The First Lady, Jeanette Kagame, has called on Rwandans to join credit and savings cooperatives, as a way of entrenching the culture of savings. She said Rwandans should not fear to acquire loans, adding that it was important to be confident in business undertakings.Mrs Kagame was speaking yesterday on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Coopedu, a local micro finance which has helped extend financial services to particularly women over the years."The women that have benefited from Coopedu should pass on the lessons to the young. This will inspire and empower the young generation, including girls, to develop themselves instead of wasting away,” she said.Mrs Kagame recognised the fact that the Institution has benefited men alongside its primary constituency – women – a practice she said bodes well with the country’s policy of promoting gender equality.The First Lady said Coopedu had played a crucial role in the country’s recovery and development since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.The president of Coopedu, Dimitrie Sissi Mukanyiligira, stated that 70 per cent of the beneficiaries were women. It has 20,345 members."We intend to further roll out our activities, across the country, so that more women can benefit from our services,” Mukanyiligira said.Etienne Ntambara, one of the beneficiaries, said he used a Rwf2 million loan from Coopedu to graduate from a mechanic to "a successful businessman”."My business has grown leaps and bounds, I now import lots of merchandise from as far as China and Dubai; I have also opened a side shop for my wife, and sent my two children to US for studies,” he said.