While Saccos have been in existence for years and being lauded as priceless savings and credit extension avenues, it now looks quite challenging to convince the youth to save in Saccos.
The Sacco sub-sector Demographics Study Report of 2019 released by Sacco Society Regulatory Authority (SASRA), which carried an in-depth study on age and gender composition of the members of deposit-taking Saccos, showed that a majority of members within the 18 to 24 years age-bracket are actually members of Farmers-based DT-Saccos, accounting for 58.88 per cent.
The population of members within this age-bracket was, however, much lower among the teachers, government and private sector DT-Saccos, which recorded a proportion of 12.84 per cent, 11.27 per cent and 7.27 per cent respectively.
These three clusters draw their membership from employees in the public or private sectors, which is normally lowest among those under 24 years.
The report revealed that although the 50 farmer-based DT-Saccos had three times more members than the 43 teacher-based and 35 government-based DT-Saccos, the corresponding proportion of the total assets and total deposits they held was over three times less (10.39 per cent and 10.11 per cent respectively) than that held by teacher and government-based DT-Saccos (37.67 per cent and 38.37 per cent respectively).
These finding imply that the majority of Farmers-based DT-Saccos make very little savings and equally receive minimal amounts in credit facilities than the members of teacher and government-based DT-Saccos.
The evolution of mankind has influenced the way humans interact with their wealth, with savings, investment and credit access at the fore in every financial decision that we make.
CPA Protus Senda, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Shoppers Sacco Society Limited with over 11yrs experience in matters of credit control, accounts, finance and audit, says youth have a bright future in the Saccos.
“The ages 24 – 35 years is the most productive and as such youth can generate more income and save more as their needs are not much compared to older people,” said Senda, who has been in the Cooperative movement for 5 years now.
Senda, a Bachelors of Commerce graduate in Finance and Banking and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K), states that by youth saving they make their future life more secure.
“By saving as much as possible your future is secured. People fail to understand that Saccos are not just about loans, but also about investment,” said Senda.
“Youth can as well rise up to any leadership position since they are the owners and have the right to elect and be elected,” he added.
According to Senda, Saccos offer the most affordable interest rates in the world and one can have a flexible time to repay.
“It’s only in Sacco where you can bake a cake and eat it. By being a member of a Sacco, you are a shareholder. You earn dividend as an owner and interest on deposits as a shareholder,” he said.
He said Sacco members also get first priority over non-members on projects. This not only gives them an opportunity to bid first, but also assures them of prompt notification as soon as new projects are launched.
By Roy Hezron
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