Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) have, in the recent past, stepped up their digital marketing campaigns, running attractive TV advertisements, updating their websites to make them more interactive, and going big on X, Facebook, and other social media platforms. SACCOs are also investing huge sums of cash to spruce up their online presence.
This is being done through the creation of a user-friendly website and active social media pages to showcase SACCO services, loan options, interest rates, and contact information.
SACCOs that have run huge TV commercials in recent months include Ukulima SACCO, Nation SACCO, Hazina SACCO, Harambee SACCO, Kenya Bankers SACCO, Kimisitu SACCO, and Qona SACCO, formerly Safaricom DT SACCO.
Yet still, other low-budget SACCOs are conducting comprehensive and wide-coverage documentaries, highlighting their suite of financial products and awards as well as testimonials from members who have improved their lives from SACCO loans.
All these strategies are geared towards appealing to the more tech-savvy youthful population, a segment that is conspicuously absent at Annual General Meetings (AGMs) held yearly by these SACCOs.
“We are always keen to understand what the youth want and have therefore designed products that appeal to them. We have also ensured that we fix the technology to make it more robust to enable the youth to interact with our products,” said David Mategwa, National Chairman of the Board, Kenya National Police DT SACCO.
He added that Kenya Police Sacco has ensured that it has a youthful board of directors and delegates.
“During our training sessions, we impart leadership skills to the youthful members while also building their capacity to be financially literate so that they can better save and invest,” said Mategwa.
Deep-pocketed SACCOs are now locked in a fierce battle to capture the eyeballs of audiences through aggressive TV commercials as well as having a strong online presence. This is a competition for deposits among SACCOs as well as from commercial banks, reaching new heights each day.
“Understanding that it takes a while for one to accumulate enough savings so as to take out a sizeable loan amount, we have attempted to sort out this disadvantage that the youth have by introducing the Karibu Loan on our platforms for the newly employed youth to give them a soft landing, “said Sichangi Wanyonyi, TNT Sacco Board Chairman.
Mr. Wanyonyi told this publication that apart from having a dedicated team to disseminate as much information and interactions on its social media platforms, the Society is also organizing free entrepreneurial skills workshops and training sessions targeting the youth. “The idea is to capture their attention now so that they will remember us when they open their own business enterprises in the future, “said Wanyonyi.
“We realize that the youth is a big market and a target for companies. What we are doing is converting the Junior Accounts to Normal Member Accounts. We have also shifted over 89% of all our transactions to digital platforms to enable the youth and other members to easily access our services, given that technology in the 21st century is now what drives business,” said Solomon Atsiaya, Kenya National Police DT Sacco Chief Executive Officer.
A large segment of the youth has given Saccos a wide berth, given that most of them have no gainful employment or have not yet accumulated cash. For those Saccos that do not have deep pockets to run expensive TV commercials, these players have stepped up their IT and digital channels to attract the youth. Others have specifically designed and innovative financial products that appeal to the youth.
One such player is Mentor DT SACCO, which is opening its doors to the youth.
“We have designed financial products specifically for the youth, most of whom still have low savings. We are also organizing training sessions during our AGMs for the youth to empower them with financial skills, including how to save,” said Joyce Ndegwa, Mentor DT SACCO Chief Executive.
Kenya National Police DT Sacco Chairman-David Mategwa.
With access to financial services shifting to digital platforms, there are SACCOs that have dismantled the brick-and-mortar structures to enable the youth to access their services.
“We have proposed to attract the youth by enhancing and ensuring robust IT platforms that can enable them to have access to our financial products and services without physically visiting the branch offices, “said Patrick Njenga, Tower DT Sacco Chief Executive Officer.
There are also SACCOs that are promoting financial products for the youth, who are not necessarily their members. For instance, Ukulima DT SACCO is giving out loans for the youth interested in projects in the MSME sector that can generate income.
“We have the Chipukizi, a special loan product on our digital platform designed and developed for the unemployed youth engaged mostly in the SME sector. Those interested may not be our members. Before we disburse the loan, we have to get guarantorship and assurance that the venture is viable and can generate good returns.
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Those who can access the product do not therefore have to have made any savings with the SACCO. We also offer the youth favorable rates and terms on this product as long as they show the initiative and interest in the project that is seeking funds, “said Richard Nyaanga, Ukulima DT SACCO Chief Executive.
Still, there are progressive DT SACCOs such as Boresha SACCO, which has gone a step further beyond creating attractive and user-friendly digital platforms to purposely create positions for the youth within its leadership structures.
By Jackson Okoth.
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