TOGETHER WE GROW
Imarika DT Sacco has been making headlines with a series of high-impact events. Its latest activities paint the picture of an institution at the top of its game — financially robust, strategically focused, member-centred, and generous enough in its success to share what it knows with others.
The most recent was the Imarika Sacco Delegates Seminar 2026, focused on equipping those entrusted with guiding the institution into the future. Held in April, the seminar brought together the Sacco’s delegates for an intensive programme of skills development, strategic thinking, and leadership sharpening.
The underlying philosophy was straightforward: a Sacco is only as strong as the governance structures that steer it.
“Delegates who understand their role — not merely as elected representatives, but as active custodians of member interests and institutional direction — make better decisions, ask sharper questions, and hold management to higher standards,” said one of the facilitators at the event.
The seminar covered the competencies needed to lead effectively in a rapidly changing financial environment, with particular focus on how delegates can serve member interests while ensuring the Sacco’s continued growth and regulatory compliance. By all accounts, it was a success — participants left sharper, better informed, and more confident in their governance responsibilities.
In many institutions, governance is treated as a formality — a box to tick before the real business of operations proceeds. At Imarika, it is treated as a competitive advantage. A well-led Sacco attracts better talent, makes sounder investments, manages risk more effectively, and ultimately delivers better returns to its members.
Beyond training delegates, the Sacco also organised the Milli Club Annual Investors Forum — an occasion that was equal parts recognition ceremony, networking event, and motivational session. Men and women who had, in many cases, started with nothing more than a modest monthly contribution stood together in acknowledgement of what consistent saving had built for them. The Milli Club celebrates members who have crossed the millionaire threshold through the Sacco’s savings and investment products. Year on year, its membership has grown, and each new entrant represents a family whose socioeconomic standing has been permanently and positively transformed.
“We don’t just talk about financial growth,” the Sacco’s leadership declared at the forum. “We walk with you step by step and actualize your dreams.” Small steps today create big financial success tomorrow.
The Sacco is also delivering strong returns. On members’ investments. In financial year 2025, members received dividends of 15% on Share Capital and an interest rebate of 10.25% on Long Term Deposits. Saving works with Imarika Sacco.
“Financial literacy is the invisible infrastructure of a successful Sacco. A member who understands compound interest saves more intentionally. One who understands loan management repays more reliably. One who grasps the difference between share capital and a fixed deposit makes more informed choices. In aggregate, a financially literate membership produces a healthier, more stable institution — which in turn delivers better returns for all,” said Mr John Ziro, Imarika DT Sacco Board Chairman.
Underpinning all of this is a technology infrastructure that has fundamentally changed what it means to be a Sacco member in the digital age. Through the Imarika App and USSD codes accessible by dialling *645# or *440#, members can access the full suite of Sacco services at any hour, from anywhere — whether on a farm in Bamba, an office in Nairobi, or in the diaspora. Technology has been a deliberate strategic priority, extending the Sacco’s reach, reducing transaction costs, and improving the experience of every member.
“Mobile banking, ATM access, and our online member portal have done more than add convenience — they have made us a leaner, faster institution,” said the Sacco CEO Mr. George Yongo. “We are serving more members, processing requests faster, and growing our footprint without growing our costs at the same rate.”
Imarika DT Sacco has become a benchmark institution — other Saccos are now coming to it, eager to understand how it has achieved what it has.
The Sacco operates from its Imarik Plaza headquarters in Kilifi town, with eight branches across the Coast region: Malindi, Mariakani, Mtwapa, and Bamba in Kilifi County; Kengeleni in Mombasa County; Garsen in Tana River County; Mpeketoni in Lamu County; and Ukunda in Kwale County.
Its product offering is deliberately designed to meet members at every stage of their financial journey — from basic savings accounts to tailored loan products serving teachers, civil servants, bodaboda operators, and the self-employed. The Sacco also offers competitive interest rates, quick loan processing, and salary-based loans of up to four times a member’s shares, making credit accessible and reasonably priced for the ordinary Kenyan.
Its story started half a century ago, when one hundred primary school teachers in Malindi pooled their modest savings and registered what would become one of Kenya’s most celebrated co-operative societies. Today, Imarika DT Sacco stands as a towering example of what vision, discipline, and member-centred leadership can achieve — grown from its humble coastal roots to serve members across the republic and beyond Kenya’s borders.
The name Imarika means to make better. Fifty years and thousands of transformed lives later, the Sacco is still making good on that promise — one shilling, one member, one dream at a time. It is a name the Sacco has worked hard to earn, and by all accounts, continues to live up to.
The Sacco’s vision — to be the trusted Sacco of choice for all — remains the lens through which every product, every programme, and every policy is shaped.
