Elite Sacco eases credit access to slum dwellers

Nakuru

Friday, September 1, 2023

KNA by Anne Mwale 

A Savings and Credit Cooperatives Society (Sacco) that will allow slums residents to access credit without any collateral, jobs or even bank accounts was unveiled in Kwa Rhonda slums.

Acknowledging the roll out, the Chairman, Elite Savings and Credit Cooperatives Society Mr Nicholas Tanui encouraged the youth and women to take advantage of the Sacco to save the little money they have.

"Finally, Elite Sacco has been rolled out in Kwa-Ronda. This is now a great opportunity especially for young people and women to save and invest their money. Kwa-Ronda people, start saving today at Elite Sacco and borrow money so that you can turn that business idea you have into reality, go back to school or buy a property," Tanui said.

Tanui said all one needs is to become a member and save in order to accumulate shares with fellow members acting as collateral, and affirmed that they are keen to uplift the lives of slum dwellers who have largely been ignored by players in the microfinance industry.

The chairman indicated that their mission was to empower members particularly the youth economically through mobilization of savings and provision of affordable credit services. “By end of next year, we want to have a presence in all parts of this slum. It is a movement for slum dwellers,” Tanui said. 

To join, one is required to visit the Sacco offices in Kwa-Ronda for registration and submission of membership application form. One then begins saving from as low as Sh500 a month.

The Sacco is working on a mobile platform that will allow members to apply for loans and make payments.

“The Sacco plans to make full use of ICT to conveniently make available all services on a mobile platform. The corona pandemic taught us to adopt technology in a way that previously we were cautious about. There is no going back,” Tanui said.

According to the chairperson, women and youth are transformative elements in the society and will be given priority when loans are disbursed.

The official stated they were encouraging youth to join the co-operative society to instill a savings and borrowing culture in the informal sector particularly among boda boda operators.

Tanui further indicated that the Sacco is expected to alleviate the problem of lending to small and micro enterprises in the informal settlement that have long been shunned by mainstream banks.

The Sacco’s Assistant Credit Manager Ms Evelyne Moturi stated that residents of the informal settlement will be able to expand their businesses as they have a ready funding source.

Moturi indicated that they will be embarking on a youth empowerment campaign in the slum targeting youth groups that require financial and management training. “The campaign will be seeking to empower youth groups and businesses within Kwa-Ronda with financial and management skills, among other types of training,” she said. 

The Assistant Credit Manager said the future growth of the Kenyan economy would require a well-educated and financially informed population.

 "As such, we need to empower such youth groups and social clusters so that they can contribute to the socio-economic development of Kenya and help attain maximum potential," she said.

Moturi disclosed that Sacco’s future plans were to invest in well-structured youth groups in informal settlements with serious investment potential by setting aside money to be extended to these groups in form of grants.

She added, “We are telling residents of Kwa-Ronda that in a Sacco, you make your cake and eat it. By being a member of a Sacco, you are a shareholder. You earn a dividend as an owner and interest on deposits as a shareholder.”

A Director Mr Laurence Kibagendi said the Sacco will give members more than just a savings avenue and credit source.

“There will be more than just loans in this Sacco. Members will also get trained. Also, if you want to get credit, you will barely come across anyone who will charge you interest rates lower than our Saccos will,” noted Kibagendi.

Another Director Pastor Christopher Ondiek stated that as Kenyans fight against crime perpetrated mostly by the youth, there was a need to look at ways of making the average Kenyans to also access wealth.

He noted that the Sacco was one way of enabling youth in the informal settlement to access wealth in a legitimate way. He added the fact that they are easy to join also means they can easily distribute wealth to larger swathes of the population.

Ondiek observed that today, co-operatives hold over 40 per cent of the GDP and 35 per cent of total savings in the country. “This means if they are supported further they can easily change the country,” he said.

Courtesy ; K. N. A