A BASKET FOR ALL YOUR FINANCIAL NEEDS
In 1976, in the quiet town of Ol’Kalou, a handful of primary school teachers came together to pool what little they had and build something that would outlast any one of them. There were 125 of them at the start, bound less by capital than by conviction that their community deserved better access to credit.
Fifty years on, that conviction has grown into Tower Sacco, an institution with Ksh 36 billion in assets and a membership base of more than 370,000, spread across nine counties and served by 31 branches and satellite offices, its reach extending even to over 1,000 members banking from the diaspora.
This September, against that backdrop of decades of steady growth, the Sacco marks its golden jubilee. It is a celebration of transformation, lives changed, and empowered communities.
The success story of Tower Sacco started quite simply. A group of visionary teachers, tired of watching colleagues struggle for credit, decided to build their own institution. What started as Nyandarua Teachers Sacco rebranded in 2012 into Tower Sacco, a name that would come to define a different kind of growth.
The Society Board of Directors Chairman Peter Ngugi, who has led the board since 2023, measures that growth in lives impacted rather than figures in financial performance.
“I’m very proud of Tower Sacco because of the transformation we have made to our people in five decades,” Mr Ngugi says.
“Integrity remains the cornerstone of our governance, our service delivery, and our long-term sustainability,” he adds.
He points to two milestones above the rest: steadily expanding loan access that has helped members educate their children, expand business or own property, and the 2010 opening of the Common Bond, which threw membership open to thousands who had never before qualified to join.
“I’m very proud of Tower Sacco because of the transformation we have made to our people in five decades. Integrity remains the cornerstone of our governance, our service delivery, and our long-term sustainability.”
Mr Peter Ngugi, Chairman.
Built on Trust
Every business day at Tower starts the same way, Mr Ngugi says: prayer, gratitude, and a moment set aside for members, staff and directors alike.
“We don’t compare ourselves with others. We always yearn to do our very best, and out of that comes the pride of being unique and offering the best of our services,” he says.
This has resulted in success that is well evident in the Sacco’s numbers and impeccable service delivery. Members can borrow as little as they can comfortably repay, a model designed to grow with them rather than outpace them.
“We have seen members steadily rise from borrowing as low as a thousand shillings to ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, ten million and beyond,” Mr Ngugi says. “Once you become a member of the Sacco, you own it. It is yours. It is your business.”
The scale of Tower Sacco’s growth is staggering. From 125 founding members in 1976 to a membership base of 370,000 today. From a modest pool of savings to Ksh 36 billion in assets. And the ambition has not halted: Tower has set its sights on Ksh 80 billion in total assets by 2030.
The Sacco Chief Executive Officer, CPA Patrick Njenga, credits financial inclusivity as the thread running through it all. Financial literacy programmes, he says, have lifted people from the bottom of the economic pyramid into full participation in the Sacco’s services.
“They have learned the importance of service, and through that they have been able to improve their socio-economic balance,” CPA Njenga says.
Small and medium enterprises have been among the biggest beneficiaries. So has agriculture, where members have moved from subsistence to agribusiness, earning more than they did before joining Tower Sacco. In healthcare, the Sacco products now help members secure insurance cover and pay premiums, putting quality care within reach.
“Tower Sacco has really impacted the lives of the community,” CPA Njenga says.
In 2025 alone, the Sacco disbursed Ksh 16.38 billion in loans, growing its total loan portfolio to Ksh 25.15 billion.
“We have seen high demand for our competitive credit facilities,” the CEO says.
Weathering the Storm
Resilience defines Tower as much as growth does. When Covid-19 forced other lenders to freeze credit, Tower kept its loan books open.
“The Sacco has been very strong during times of economic hardship, and we can attribute this to the support and trust we have gotten from our members,” CPA Njenga says.
Its resilience has translated into recognition. Tower is now ranked the fifth-largest Sacco in the country, according to the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) report.
Digital and Future-ready
The Society’s founder manager, Daniel Mwangi, recalls how he watched the institution transform from the inside out, and he doesn’t mince words about what that change means for members.
“Can you imagine, there was a time when one applied for a loan and had to wait eight to ten months before getting it. Today you can apply and get it instantly on your phone,” Mwangi says. “The Sacco is efficient and made for the modern world. That is the transformation.”
Internet banking, mobile banking, more than 300 agents, and access via the Tower Sacco App and USSD *655# have brought that transformation to members wherever they are, including those banking from abroad.
Mr Gabriel Waweru, a retired, long-serving Sacco Chief Executive, says the Sacco’s transformation was deliberate, planned and executed with the future in mind while ensuring no one was left behind.
Mr Waweru joined the Sacco in 1989 as the Deputy CEO and played a significant role in accelerating its growth.
“I saw the Sacco grow step by step in terms of asset base, deposits, and loan portfolio. This growth was enabled by our passionate and loyal members, who really love the Sacco. They motivated us by offering me their support,” he says.
Awards
The golden jubilee has arrived with hardware to match. The Sacco is a champion in all ways. Tower recently scooped four National 2026 Ushirika Awards in the Employer-Based Saccos with Total Assets above Ksh 30 Billion category, emerging 1st for Most Improved DT Sacco, 2nd for Most Efficient DT Sacco, 2nd for Best DT Sacco in Risk Management, and 3rd for Best DT Sacco in Technology Optimization.
Guided by the theme, “Embracing Integrity for Sustainable Growth and Member Trust,” Tower Sacco is marking its golden jubilee celebrations with a focus on becoming better while remaining the basket for all members’ financial needs.
“Tower Sacco has remained resilient and committed to its strategic objectives,” Mr Ngugi says.
Fifty years after a few teachers decided their community deserved better access to credit, that founding idea, that ordinary members could build something extraordinary together, still drives the institution forward. Whether a member is starting a business, buying a home, financing an education, or developing property, Tower’s objective remains the same one it made in 1976: this is a place to grow, together. Indeed, it is a truly universal SACCO of choice for excellent and vibrant economic growth.
“The Sacco has been very strong during times of economic hardship, and we can attribute this to the support and trust we have gotten from our members.” – CPA Patrick Njenga, CEO.
