The year’s surplus, split fairly — calculated in minutes, not weeks.
The member dividend — recorded in cooperative accounting as SHU, or Sisa Hasil Usaha — is the cooperative’s net operating surplus for the year — money that belongs to the members who generated it, not retained as company profit. rafiqHQ apportions the statutory reserves, computes each member’s share, and credits it, with a full audit trail behind every naira.
Not every naira of surplus reaches a member balance
Before any payout, a statutory general reserve and an education/community fund are set aside — both capped at a percentage the cooperative’s executives decide, never exceeding what the platform allows.
What’s left is the net member dividend pool — the figure that actually gets distributed.
Two ways to share the dividend pool
Ratio-based
Each member’s share is weighted by how much they contributed and borrowed through the year — the more active a member, the larger their patronage dividend.
Equal share
Every eligible member receives the same amount, regardless of contribution size — the executive’s call, set once for the whole cooperative.
What keeps a distribution honest
- Statutory general reserve and a community/education fund are set aside first
- Each reserve is capped at a percentage the cooperative's executives set
- Distribution runs ratio-based (by contribution) or equal-share, the executive's choice
- A distribution key prevents the same year's payout from ever running twice
Surplus is one part of the year’s governance
Dividend distribution sits alongside minute books, audit exports and the same approval roles that govern every other financial decision.