All the major Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (Saccos) are locked up in stiff competition to set up a branch in Nairobi’s Central Business District and other major urban centres, searching for visibility and new members.
The list of most rural-based Deposit-Taking Saccos that have already set up fully-fledged branches in Nairobi and the metropolitan areas include Murang’a-based Mentor, Imarisha, Bingwa Sacco, New Forties, Ollin and Yetu.
Port Sacco is the latest to establish its presence in the capital city, opening a new branch in Nairobi’s Inland Container Depot at Embakasi.
“We are excited about what the future holds for Ports Sacco and are confident that the opening of the Nairobi ICD branch will serve as a gateway to our efforts to forge further inland and serve more members,” said Dedan Ondieki, Ports Sacco Chief Executive Officer.
Curiously, most Nairobi-based DT Saccos are opening branches in upcountry towns and other urban centres. Others have abandoned the brick-and-mortar model of physical presence, such as Kenya National Police Sacco, and are instead riding on technology platforms to reach out to its members.
“DT Saccos that are setting up in Nairobi are mostly the rural-based societies that have since rebranded and opened their common bond. Therefore, these societies are reaching out to recruit members outside their catchment areas. Nairobi, a booming business centre with vast economic power, offers these financial co-operatives with immense business opportunities, “said Richard Nyaanga-Ukulima Sacco, Chief Executive Officer.
Mentor Sacco, previously Muramati Sacco and serving members of the teaching fraternity in Murang’a, is a classic case of a rural-based Sacco that has rebranded and opened its common bond. This development has enabled the Society to have a presence in Nairobi and recruit members from virtually all sectors of the economy.
Bingwa Sacco, headquartered in Kirinyaga County, has opened several branches in Nairobi and Kitengela, opening up its membership beyond the coffee and tea growers in Kirinyaga County.
The list of DT Saccos that have since rebranded and opened the common bond, thus setting up branches in Nairobi-away from their traditional rural-based catchments, is growing daily.
But not all DT Saccos are keen to open new brick-and-mortar branches.
“The cost of setting up a physical outlet is expensive and this is why we have since stopped physical expansion and instead is relying on our robust technology platforms to reach and provide services and financial products to our members, “said David Mategwa, Chairman Kenya National Police DT Sacco.
Industry experts maintain that DT Saccos have opened outlets in Nairobi to recruit members outside their catchment areas while others are simply seeking brand visibility. Others are eyeing the booming business in the city, especially those engaged in the booming informal sector who are mostly unbanked or underserved by formal financial institutions.
In the case of Port Sacco, the idea of opening up a new outlet in Nairobi is to seek more members at the Inland Container terminal facilities that are being set up countrywide as well as workers working in other ports, such as the one in Kisumu and Lamu.
According to the Sacco Supervision Annual Report, Nairobi has the highest number of Saccos head offices at 177, accounting for 49.30% of all regulated Saccos. It is followed by the Counties of Kiambu, Mombasa, Meru, and Nyeri, respectively. Forty counties have at least a Sacco head office. Makueni, Turkana, Tana River, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, and Isiolo do not have a Sacco head office, though other regulated Saccos branch networks serve them.
According to a FinAccess Household Survey-County Perspective, Garissa, Narok, and Tana River counties had the highest proportion of financially excluded adults.
The Nationwide Co-Operative Sector Baseline Survey indicated that Nairobi had close to 5,000 registered co-operatives, the highest number in the country.
