By Azael Masese
Nyamira Tea Farmers
Sacco Society Ltd
plans to open its common
bond in order to attract
membership from other sectors
including the business community.
This will enable the Sacco
to diversity its business operations
and strategy.
Located in Nyamira town,
the Sacco is licensed by the
Sacco Societies Regulatory
Authority (Sasra) as a deposit
taking institution.
Opening the common bond
will see the Sacco attract members
from other sectors into its
fold as it seeks to adapt to a
fast changing business environment.
The new plan, according
to the Managing Director, Ms
Gladys Bwoma, will strengthen
the Sacco’s finance muscle
through improved credit facilities
through increased mobilization
of savings.
Among key departments to
be bolstered by the move is the
Sacco’s loan portfolio, deposits
and credit department.
Ms Bwoma said the Sacco
is reviewing its strategic planwhich
will then be submitted to
Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority
(Sasra), for approval.
Currently, the Sacco belongs
to tea farmers but will
now attract members from other
sectors of the economy.
“We are reviewing our
minimum share capital so that
it is favourable to our target
market to ensure that they enjoy
our products and services,” she
added.
Tea farmers, she noted, are
undergoing turbulent times and
cannot be relied upon to drive
the agenda of the Sacco to better
times ahead.
By doing so, they avoid
deductions from the credit offered,
a practice that had seen an
increase in the number of Sacco
loan defaulters.
“We strain in our loan recovery
during certain months
with the exception of October
when farmers receive bonus.
This makes the operating environment
unsustainable,” she
noted.
With interest rates extended
by commercial banks remaining
high, Ms Bwoma believes
that Saccos offer better credit
terms and growth prospects for
the traders.
“The current lending environment
is punitive, especially
for the business community
and this is the gap we
can fill by starting a microfinance
arm, open to all,” she
said.
This arrangement is set to
see its membership increase
from the current 10,000 in the
near future.
Another key strategy in
their basket of goodies is the
need to rebrand so that the new
name and image can capture
every member from across the
economic divide.
The Sacco with branches
at Kebirigo, Sang’anyi, Tombe
and Magombo, which also
owns several tea factories plans
to rebrand so as to reflect its
new image.
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