The Kenya Kwanza Administration has maintained that it plans to ride on Cooperatives as key enablers of its 2022-27 Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
The Government intends to use Cooperatives to drive activity on its key development pillars, including Agriculture, Affordable Housing, MSMEs, Health, Digital, and Creative Economy.
“This government has recognized the critical role these cooperatives play in financial deepening and has put in place a regulatory authority that regulates them in a manner akin to the regulatory framework of banks under the Central Bank,” said Hon Simon Kiprono Chelugui, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Development.
He made these remarks during a recent dinner hosted by ACCOSCA for the Savings and Credit Cooperatives Associations (SACCAs) top executives and CEOs from the US, Europe, Canada, Africa, and other parts of the globe in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
This event was also attended by host Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim, Governor Stephen Sang (Nandi County), Governor Wesley Rotich (Elgeyo-Marakwet), and Governor Simon Kachapin of West Pokot County.
In its manifesto, the administration has said it will commit KSh 50 billion annually to provide MSMEs with 100% access to affordable finance through SACCOs, venture capital, equity funds, and long-term debt for start-ups and growth-oriented SMEs.
The Government Bottom-up Economic Agenda intends to transform the economy by pooling millions of low-income and hard-working Kenyans into the struggle for shared prosperity, triggering economic growth that ensures no one is left out of the kitchen when the national cake is being baked.
Cooperative societies are a sure way of formalizing marginalized and informal sector players, aggregating their meager resources and enabling them to leverage economies of scale.
Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies(SACCOs) can accelerate the pace of financial inclusion and penetration of savings and credit facilities while making credit available to those cut off from the formal financial sector, are not techno-savvy, and lack any form of collateral.
Cooperatives can also be used as engines of growth in numerous value chains, including dairy, coffee and tea, maize and rice, edible oils, leather, garments and textiles, artisanal mining, artisanal fishing, horticulture, and housing.
The Government also seeks to invest in the Blue Economy by providing financial and technical support to fishing cooperatives in Nyanza and Coast regions, enabling them to build capacity in fish processing and acquire cold storage facilities to acquire cold rooms and fish processing equipment.
Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies(SACCOs) continue to play a key role in providing affordable finance facilities to those who intend to build or own their own homes. Saccos are also heavy hitters in the Kenya Kwanza affordable housing plan by providing huge tracks of land and finance to their membership.
