A number of rich, mature, and well-established Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) are busy constructing their own ultra-modern head offices, moving away from rented premises, and getting their own office space.
The idea behind this move by aging SACCOs to set up their own nerve centers is driven majorly by the desire to support growing membership, enhance brand visibility, boost their non-interest income streams, reduce the cost of leasing office premises, and send a strong message of stability and a sustainable future.
With a membership that is still dominated by the older generation, SACCOs appear stuck in setting up the often expensive physical brick-and-mortar outlets, seeking the mostly unbanked and not-so-techno-savvy individuals in the lower income brackets, a segment that is still residing mostly in the rural parts of Kenya.
The list of SACCOs that are engaged in an ongoing construction of their own offices is getting longer and includes Univision DT SACCO, formerly Kitui Teachers SACCO.
The Society, like all the rest that have moved into the commercial office space business, is using member contributions—which are treated as shares—to construct its head offices and offering handsome returns in the form of dividends to its membership.
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There are also SACCOs that have taken the path of acquiring office spaces to avoid the challenges associated with construction, such as delays in obtaining approvals, escalating costs of building materials, and other disruptions.
These Societies include Tembo DT SACCO, which purchased Trio Complex, which formerly served as the HQ of East African Breweries Limited (EABL). After this, the Society acquired Tembo Complex in Garden Estate, Nairobi, where it has set up its headquarters.
Nairobi-based Nyati Deposit-Taking Sacco, with a membership of over 33,000, is the latest Society to move to its own premises—the ultra-modern Nyati Sacco Plaza worth KSh 476m, which officially opened on February 20, 2025. The grand opening of its headquarters was celebrated with a special event.
“Many SACCOs are coming of age out of the past where they were housed by companies or unions that were formed by them. For instance, many teacher-based SACCOs were initially housed by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT). These and other employer-based Societies soon grew in size and financial muscle, enabling them to move to rented premises. After becoming independent outfits, it is now time for such SACCOs to construct their own offices, “said Daniel Kinyua Marete, Solution SACCO Chief Executive Officer.
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Kinyua gives an analogy of a boy who is initially housed by the parents, then moves out to a rented apartment and begins a family before constructing his own house as the family grows and expands.
“The idea behind constructing their own offices is a desire by the now mature SACCOs to have their own corporate identity and boost the image of the brand. The shift by the SACCO to their own offices is necessitated by the need to separate or open the common bond, recruiting new members that are not from the companies that formed them, “said Mr. Marete.
Golden Pillar, previously known as Imenti SACCO, was established by farmers belonging to the Meru Farmers Central Union. This Society has since matured and left the union premises, sought for a plot, and constructed their own head offices.
Meru Teachers SACCO was established by KNUT, Meru Branch, but has come of age, leading to its rebranding and setting up its own head offices.
These growth trends seen in Meru SACCOs are replicated countrywide, where SACCOs, especially those that have existed for the past 40 to 50 years, have rebranded and set up their own HQs.
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The benefit of moving to the commercial office space has immense benefits for the SACCO and its membership. These include rent, which is classified as one of its non-funded incomes if it is the SACCO that puts up the offices, using its own funds.
In the case where a SACCO sells shares to some members so as to raise cash for construction of the offices, members will earn dividends based on their housing shares.
SACCOs are moving to the commercial office space business so as to diversify their income streams away from the core business of lending to members and earning interest income.
By Jackson Okoth
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