There is a version of the Sacco story that gets told often — the one about loyalty, longevity, and the slow, steady accumulation of trust. It is a good story. But it is mostly told by people who already know what a Sacco is.
The generation that will define the next thirty years of cooperative finance in Africa does not always know. Or worse — they think they do, and what they picture is a line of plastic chairs, a counter window, and a queue that moves like it has nowhere to be. That picture is costing us members.
In November 2024, Safaricom Sacco rebranded as Qona — drawing its name from the Swahili word kona, meaning corner, with a promise to always be there for its members. The unveiling was watched live on YouTube by thousands across the world, while hundreds of young creators and entrepreneurs packed Banda Street in Nairobi for Content Fest 2024. Not exactly the usual AGM format. By September 2025, Qona had announced a five-year strategy to more than triple its membership to 70,000 by 2028, with Generation Z named as its biggest growth opportunity.
Rebranding is not transformation — a new logo does not fix a clunky loan process. But Qona changed who it was talking to, and how. In 2026, that is exactly the institutional courage the sector needs.
Here is the context. Kenya’s FinAccess 2024 survey recorded financial inclusion at a historic 84.8 percent. Sacco assets exceeded KSh 1.1 trillion by late 2025. Yet nearly half of rural youth aged 18 to 25 remain excluded. Saccos are uniquely positioned to close that gap — their community roots go where banks and fintechs cannot. But only if they show up.
ACCOSCA has understood this. At the 2025 SACCA Congress in Accra, youth empowerment and digital inclusion were main-stage agenda items — not side panels. Its partnership with Visa on the Financial Inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania project, targeting women, youth, and micro-enterprises through the Sacco network, is a smart architecture: cooperative reach, fintech fluency.
On the branch question, the answer is not either/or. WOCCU’s Challenge 2025 found that credit unions that grew were those offering services across online and mobile channels. The physical branch still matters — especially for first-generation savers who need a human presence. But the strongest operators now pursue a blended strategy: branch plus mobile plus agent banking plus USSD for members without smartphones. Not forcing members to choose is what meeting people where they are actually looks like.
Genuine rebranding also demands honesty about what cooperatives offer that fintechs cannot: ownership, democratic voice, and profits that return to members. These are powerful differentiators — but they must be communicated in language that resonates with someone raised on digital-first products and zero-fee promises.
The Saccos that thrive in the next decade will hold cooperative values while refusing to let legacy infrastructure stand in the way of delivering on them. Rebrand with substance. Go digital without leaving anyone behind. The cooperative movement was built to do exactly that.
Discover how cooperatives are doing just that, read Co-op News— your comprehensive cooperative journal: Invest in the Best Saccos.
