- Government plans shared platform to unite Saccos
- Sacco Central to support digital services and liquidity sharing
- Initiative targets stronger governance and financial inclusion
The government is working to end fragmentation in Kenya’s cooperative sector by strengthening Saccos and improving their access to digital services, technology and liquidity.
Principal Secretary, State Department for Cooperatives Patrick Kilemi, said the government is developing partnerships and frameworks to enable Saccos to share resources and better serve their members.
The PS spoke after holding discussions with Amani M’bale, Deputy Director, Economic Opportunity, Continental Africa Regional Office, Gates Foundation, on improving financial services for farmers and strengthening Saccos’ ability to mobilise and deploy members’ savings.
The meeting, which was also attended by SASRA Chief Executive Officer David Sandagi, focused on the development of Sacco Central as a shared services platform for the Sacco movement.
The platform is expected to enable Saccos to share ICT infrastructure, digital services, interoperability and liquidity mechanisms while reducing the cost of technology. Smaller and community based Saccos are expected to benefit from improved access to these services.
Kilemi added that stronger governance, institutional capacity and effective regulation would also be key to creating a more integrated and resilient Sacco sector.
The government also recognised the support of Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya) towards Sacco Central, including the provision of technical expertise to accelerate the shared services model.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
According to the PS, a stronger Sacco network would allow cooperatives to make better use of their collective financial strength instead of depending heavily on commercial banks for loans.
The government aims to strengthen Saccos’ ability to mobilise savings, access liquidity within the sector and channel capital into productive areas, particularly agriculture and its value chains.
The initiative is expected to deepen financial inclusion and enable Sacco members to save with confidence, access suitable financial services and turn their savings into productive investments.
The government is working to end fragmentation in Kenya’s cooperative sector by strengthening Saccos and improving their access to digital services, technology and liquidity.
Principal Secretary, State Department for Cooperatives Patrick Kilemi, said the government is developing partnerships and frameworks to enable Saccos to share resources and better serve their members.
The PS spoke after holding discussions with Amani M’bale, Deputy Director, Economic Opportunity, Continental Africa Regional Office, Gates Foundation, on improving financial services for farmers and strengthening Saccos’ ability to mobilise and deploy members’ savings.
The meeting, which was also attended by SASRA Chief Executive Officer David Sandagi, focused on the development of Sacco Central as a shared services platform for the Sacco movement.
The platform is expected to enable Saccos to share ICT infrastructure, digital services, interoperability and liquidity mechanisms while reducing the cost of technology. Smaller and community based Saccos are expected to benefit from improved access to these services.
Kilemi added that stronger governance, institutional capacity and effective regulation would also be key to creating a more integrated and resilient Sacco sector.
The government also recognised the support of Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya) towards Sacco Central, including the provision of technical expertise to accelerate the shared services model.
According to the PS, a stronger Sacco network would allow cooperatives to make better use of their collective financial strength instead of depending heavily on commercial banks for loans.
The government aims to strengthen Saccos’ ability to mobilise savings, access liquidity within the sector and channel capital into productive areas, particularly agriculture and its value chains.
The initiative is expected to deepen financial inclusion and enable Sacco members to save with confidence, access suitable financial services and turn their savings into productive investments.
By Lizzy Aluga
Get more stories from our website: Sacco Review.
For comments and clarifications, write to: Saccoreview@
Kindly follow us via our social media pages on Facebook: Sacco Review Newspaper for timely updates
Stay ahead of the pack! Grab the latest Sacco Review newspaper!
