Co-op News - Sacco Review | The Leading Newspaper for Co-operative Movement in Kenya

President Ruto launching the Affordable housing in Mukuru

Treasury sets aside Ksh over 50 billion for affordable housing in 2026/2027 budget

Sacco ReviewMay 8, 2026May 8, 202603 mins

Kenya’s push to put more citizens under decent roofs is receiving a fresh financial shot in the arm, with the National Treasury earmarking Ksh 50.6 billion for the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) in the 2026/2027 financial year. The allocation, which forms 37 percent of the total Ksh 135.8 billion set aside for Housing, Urban Developments…

AFA and Lamu County deliver Ksh 20 million agricultural package to boost cotton, biofuel value chain

Sacco ReviewMay 7, 202606 mins

Lamu County farmers received a multi-million shilling agricultural boost on May 7 after the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) and the County Government of Lamu jointly launched a seed pressing facility in Hongwe and delivered 3 tonnes of BT cotton seeds to farmers gathered at Mpeketoni Agricultural Training Centre (ATC), in a twin intervention valued…

Government pushes new MSME policy to ease credit access and formalisation

Sacco ReviewMay 7, 202605 mins

The government has stepped up efforts to strengthen Kenya’s small business sector through a fresh policy drive aimed at easing access to finance, boosting competitiveness, and encouraging informal enterprises to formalise. Regulators and development partners are intensifying outreach to micro, small and medium‑sized enterprises (MSMEs) amid concerns that many firms remain locked out of structured…

AFA Acting Director General Calistus Kundu

Macadamia farmers to form Cooperatives as sector sets Ksh 100 farm gate price

Sacco ReviewMay 7, 2026May 7, 202604 mins

Farmers in Kenya’s macadamia sector have agreed to form cooperatives as part of extensive reforms aimed at streamlining the value chain and improving earnings. The resolution was reached during a two-day forum that brought together Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) as a regulator, processors and farmers, where participants emphasized that cooperatives will enhance bargaining power,…

Absa Bank commits Ksh100 billion to revamped asset financing model for MSMEs

Sacco ReviewMay 6, 2026May 7, 202605 mins

Absa Bank Kenya has unveiled a new asset financing model dubbed ABF 2.0 that will deploy Ksh100 billion over the next three years to empower micro, small, and medium‑sized enterprises (MSMEs) as well as individual customers. The revamped model is designed to improve access to productive assets and accelerate growth across key sectors of the…

Gov’t moves to modernise county markets, boost MSME competitiveness

Sacco ReviewMay 6, 2026May 6, 202604 mins

Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Investment, Trade and Industry Lee Kinyanjui has outlined a comprehensive government strategy to modernise county markets and strengthen support for traders and small businesses, signalling a sharper policy focus on the informal and micro-enterprise sector as a driver of economic growth. Appearing before the Senate Plenary at Parliament buildings on May…

SASRA warns of fragile SACCO funding structure as wealthy savers dominate majority deposits

Sacco ReviewMay 6, 202605 mins

The SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) has raised concerns over the stability of Kenya’s SACCO sector after new data revealed that the bulk of cooperative deposits are concentrated in a small fraction of wealthy accounts, even as millions of low‑value savers continue to join the movement. According to SASRA’s supervisory report, total deposit accounts rose…

AFA,Macadamia stakeholders meet to chart reforms to strengthen the sector

Sacco ReviewMay 6, 202602 mins

The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) on May 5, convened a stakeholders’ consultative forum bringing together key players in the macadamia subsector to plan reforms aimed at strengthening the value chain. The meeting focused on building consensus around price stabilization and introducing measures to guarantee fair compensation for farmers. During the session, macadamia farmers raised…

SACCO sector posts KSh 845 billion in loans as NPL ratios hold steady amid rising risks

Sacco ReviewMay 5, 202605 mins

According to data from the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), the SACCO industry closed 2024 with gross loans valued at KSh 845.11 billion, marking an 11.41 per cent increase from KSh 758.57 billion a year earlier. Despite the rapid credit expansion, the sector’s non‑performing loan (NPL) ratio remained steady at 8.39 per cent, according to…

Kagwe warns farmer coops against taking loans without clear repayment plans, says Govt won’t continue writing off debts

Sacco ReviewMay 5, 202604 mins

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has warned farmer cooperative societies against taking loans without clear repayment plans, saying the government will no longer continue writing off debts that fail to meaningfully benefit farmers. He added that stricter accountability measures have been introduced across all agriculture value chains to end the cycle of…