How nationwide members’ education and training is empowering them to prosperity
Kenya National Police DT SACCO held its 2023 Best Savers conference at Diamond Leisure Beach & Resort-Diani with Hon. Simon Chelugui, Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and MSMEs Development, in attendance as the Chief Guest.
Others at the event included Kenya National Police Sacco National Board of Directors Chairman Mr David Sohelo Mategwa-OGW, DNS, ICUDE, Co-operatives PS Patrick Kilemi, National Police Service D.I.G Mr Douglas Kanja, Former D.I.G Mr Edward Mbugua, Commissioner of Co-operatives Mr David Obonyo, together with Sacco Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer Mr Solomon Atsiaya as well as the Society’s Senior Management, Best Savers and Staff.
Organized annually, the objective of the conference is to encourage more savings among members of the SACCO as well as to promote a savings culture.
During this forum, the DT SACCO took advantage of the opportunity to train best savers on financial products that enable them to use their higher dividends earnings to settle other obligations, including payment of school or college fees.
This, in turn, encourages these millionaires to save even more cash into the SACCO and boost the capital levels that will be available for lending to members. It is, therefore, in the interest of the Society to encourage its best savers to invest more, growing their money the SACCO, whose annual returns to members are among the highest in the country. Available figures indicate that Kenya National Police DT Sacco has one of the highest number of members with savings above Ksh 1 Million, pegged at over 1,500.
A conference and seminar for best savers is taking place at the tail end of nationwide members’ education and training forums that have been ongoing at the Society’s various branches and outlets countrywide.
These member education drives assist the Society in not only promoting and generating awareness about loans, savings and other financial products and services but also aims to empower members economically and socially through the provision and mobilization of resources and affordable services.
Financial experts maintain that with suitable education sessions, members can be motivated to put more savings into their Sacco, translating into stronger deposits and more liquidity for lending for any such Sacco.
This is why the Kenya National Police DT SACCO has put a lot of emphasis on financial literacy and wellness so as to boost members’ deposits. In order for Saccos to grow their loan portfolio, they have to train members on how to save, borrow, invest wisely and repay promptly.
High financial literacy among members of a SACCO enables the financial institution to reduce its bad debts load because chances are very high that any loan borrowed with a clear-cut financial plan will not result in bad debt.
The Kenya National Police DT SACCO conducts its member education and training sessions in line with the 5th Co-operatives Principle, which emphasizes the fact that a well-enlightened member of any Society is also a better investor.
The Society also takes cognizance of the fact that imparting financial literacy is a continuous effort in empowering members for a quality life by providing diversified financial products and services.
“This exercise is vital in informing and empowering our members and non-members, to enable them to arrive at informed financial choices regarding how to save or invest with the Sacco. The sessions are also used to enlighten members on the wide range of financial products and services offered by the Sacco,” said Mr David Mategwa, the SACCO Board of Directors Chairman.
The Society has many offerings, including attractive packages and benefits for members channelling their salaries through the Sacco, such as instant unsecured mobile loans as well as convenient channels of transacting, among others.
Apart from consistent payment of high dividends to members, the DT SACCO has other attractions, including high rebates, competitive interest rates on loans, instant mobile loans through the M-Tawi platform, bank loan clearance on behalf of members and access to affordable mortgage products through its investment subsidiary.
The Society is one of the main shareholders of the state-run Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC). Established in 1972, Kenya National Police DT Sacco opened its doors for business in June 1973.
The Society aims at mobilizing savings and provides credit facilities at competitive rates. It had an initial membership of 690 and has since grown to over 71,000 members.
Kenya National Police DT SACCO has always trailblazed with impressive performance, professionalism and economic empowerment, earning it plaudits from top government dignitaries for its impressive performance and unwavering financial support to its members, notably police officers, towards attaining financial independence.
Cooperatives and MSME Cabinet Secretary Hon. Simon Chelugui said the steady and stable performance recorded by the SACCO and how it conducted its meetings mirrors those of publicly quoted and blue-chip companies. “Your presence is an indication of the continued loyalty, support and service to all members of society. Such commitment is critical for the growth of any cooperative society and more so to your members,” he said.
For over 50 years, has enabled its members own properties such as houses and cars, afford to pay schools for their children in some of the best schools and other learning institutions in and out of the country.
“We want our police officers and other members to live a complete life like any other working Kenyan through the SACCO and this is something to look up to,” he said.
With its total assets valued at about Ksh49 billion and a loan book of Ksh40.8 billion, the SACCO is topmost best managed in the co-operative sector.
Why Sacco values members’ financial literacy
The Kenya National Police DT SACCO conducted a nationwide education drive aimed at empowering members for a quality life. The DT SACCO has kept a tradition of empowering its members through financial literacy, enabling them to use various financial skills such as personal financial, budgeting, and investing to grow their wealth.
As a result, the SACCO’s list of millionaires has continued to grow as its financially literate members have a foundation of a relationship with money, consequently planning and investing prudently. The Society’s education and training sessions have become popular with members.
On a mission to provide competitive financial solutions to members through effective mobilization and management of resources, the Kenya National Police DT SACCO is keen to equip members with financial knowledge to cultivate a culture of savings and investment as soon as a member joins the SACCO.
“The earlier you start saving and investing, the better off you will be. We believe education is the key to success when it comes to money,” said Mr David Mategwa, SACCO Board of Directors Chairman.
Given the importance of finance in modern society, lacking financial literacy can be very damaging to an individual’s long-term financial success.
The DT SACCO’s objectives include ensuring the progress of its members by educating them continuously on the proper use of credit and providing its members with credit for purposes of providence or production, or both.
Through its elaborate and extensive financial literacy programmes, the Society provide an opportunity for each of its members to improve their respective economic and social conditions.
Over the years, the country’s third-largest SACCO has been defined by quality financial solutions, with its management always striving to provide diversified, reliable, accessible and affordable financial products and services to its diverse members.
“We act with professionalism and undertake our business ethically while collaborating and supporting each other in our work,” said Mr Solomon Atsiaya, CEO
As a learning organization that is committed to the continuous improvement of its processes in order to deliver innovative financial solutions to members, the Kenya National Police DT SACCO leadership and management know that financial illiteracy can lead to a number of pitfalls, such as being more likely to accumulate unsustainable debt burdens, either through poor spending decisions or a lack of long-term preparation.
“Growing wealth requires a bit of working knowledge of key financial concepts, such as compound interest and the time value of money. If you are young, retirement may seem years away. While it is a way in the future, it is also one of the best goals to start saving for, because the earlier you start, the more you’ll have compounded down the line,” stated Mr Atsiaya.
Holistically, the benefit of financial literacy is to empower individuals to make smarter decisions. More specifically, financial literacy is important for preventing devastating mistakes and preparing one for emergencies.
It is also through financial literacy individuals can easily achieve their goals by better understanding how to budget and save money. Financial literacy also inspires confidence for individuals to approach major life choices with greater confidence realizing that they are less likely to be surprised or negatively impacted by unforeseen outcomes.
The Kenya National Police DT SACCO strives to educate members on personal financial planning and investment so that they can prosper now and in the future, a gesture of the value it places on the financial well-being of members. Every year, the country-wide education drive is conducted spearheaded by the Board of Directors and Management.
Joining the SACCO is a way to your prosperity, where members befit from Low-interest rates on loans, Instant M-Tawi FOSA loans, Affordable property with Investment Co-operative, and High annual dividends and interest on deposits.
In addition to Education and training to members, the SACCO has left an indelible mark on communities and education institutions through corporate social responsibility activities. Recently, the SACCO through CEO Atsiaya presented donations of laptops and tablets to Utumishi Boys Academy as rewards for students who excelled in their KCSE 2022 exams. The DT SACCO celebrated its golden jubilee in early February with the launch of the KSh89 million Kenya Police Sacco Stadium as the hallmark of its CSR activities, which was commissioned by President William Ruto.
