By Jackson Okoth
Boresha Sacco Society Limited with
its headquarters in Eldama Ravine
has begun selling shares to its
members.
The Society aims to raise a minimum
of Sh500 million but has set a maximum
target of Sh1 billion, depending on the response
of its members.
The exercise is aimed at raising share
capital, develop more long term lending
products, sort out its liquidity issues and
enable more members own the Society.
The Sacco is selling shares to members
at Sh100 each with 5 million shares
worth Sh500 million being offered. All
persons, institutions or groups registered
as Boresha Sacco members are eligible to
participate.
“The purpose of this shares drive is to
raise our capital base, which is still very
low. We also want to reduce the high cost
of external borrowing so that we can pay
more dividends to members as well as
sort out some of our liquidity issues,” said
Moses Chebor, Chief Executive Officer,
Boresha Sacco Society Limited in an interview
with Sacco Review at his Eldama
Ravine offices recently.
He said the shares drive will enable the
Society to raise long term capital to enable
it extend the loaning period to members to
between 60 to 72 months as well as enable
more members own the Society, currently
dominated by salaried teachers.
“We want more members, especially
farmers and those from the business community,
who are still sitting on the fence,
to increase their shares in the Society. We
also want to increase the products and services
range available to members and this
is why we are raising the share capital,”
said Chebor.
Out of its 60,000 members, the Society
is still dominated by 12,000 teachers,
leaving out the larger bulk of 48,000 members
from the farming and business community,
who have yet to buy more shares
in the Society.
According to Philemon Chebii, Business
Development and Marketing Manager
at Boresha Sacco Society Limited, it
is this portion of the membership that this
shares sale is targeting so that they can increase
their shares.
He said the Sacco already has sales officers
in the field to sensitize farmers and
those from the business community on the
need to buy more shares in the society.
“We will also be doing breakfast meetings
in all the respective branches, setting
up desks within the branches and using
our employees to market the shares drive,”
added Mr Chebii.
He outlined an elaborate shares sale
campaign involving among others local
radio talk shows and adverts in the electronic
media, printing of bronchures and
flyers to reach out to more members.
“We are confident that the strategy we
have put in place that will also involve delegates
and the Society’s board members
will succeed in educating and training
our members on how to participate in the
shares drive and why,” said Chebii.
While most of the teachers have shares
above Sh30,000, the same is not the case
for farmers and the business community
members, majority maintaining the required
minimum of Sh1,800. Data and
analysis by Boresha Sacco management
shows that there are those in the business
community who have the potential to raise
their shares to above Sh100,000.
Although the Sacco Society Regulatory
Authority (SASRA) approved the
request by Boresha Sacco to conduct a
shares drive in July, 2015, it took more
than a year before the exercise officially
kicked off in July this year.
“We were seriously affected by the
teachers’ strike which begun in August
last year and could not therefore launch
the shares drive. In the first quarter of this
year, members have been preoccupied
with such issues as school fees, planting
season and farm production and this is
why we felt the timing was not right. After
the campaign we plan to sit down and assess
the situation again,” said Chebor.
Figures indicate that so far, Boresha
Sacco has been able to raise its share capital
from Sh73 million to the current Sh240
million.
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