Cooperative societies hold big potential to enhance the livelihoods of people across various sectors, including agriculture, education, the environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises, by effectively mobilizing resources.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, noted that for governments and institutions seeking to access concessional funding, cooperatives must be recognized as vital partners due to their remarkable capacity to generate resources.
Speaking during the 24th Savings & Credit Cooperatives Association (SACCA) Congress in Naivasha, where he represented President William Ruto, Mudavadi said the Cooperatives in Kenya spanned various productive economic sectors and play an important role in providing livelihoods, particularly for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.
“Cooperatives, especially in the financial sector, have consistently excelled in financial deepening and currently account for over 30 percent of the country’s domestic savings,” said Mudavadi.
By the end of 2023, Mudavadi said Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) under the regulatory framework of the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) had a membership of 8.84 million depositors, controlled an asset base of Sh972 billion, with savings amounting to Sh682 billion, and an outstanding loan portfolio exceeding Sh758 billion.
“These are not just numbers—they are the lifeblood of our economy, demonstrating the enormous potential of the cooperative movement. However, despite these impressive achievements, cooperatives continue to face challenges that hinder their growth and development,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi, also Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs said the government was committed to providing an enabling environment through appropriate policy, legal, and institutional frameworks to ensure cooperatives thrive by overcoming the aforementioned challenges.
He said the government had sponsored the Cooperatives Bill No. 7 of 2024, before Parliament, that was expected to strengthen governance and enhance efficiency in the management and operations of cooperatives in Kenya.
“Other ongoing legal, and institutional reforms include the establishment of a Sacco Central Liquidity Framework, which will improve liquidity in the sector by facilitating short-term inter-Sacco lending and access to the National Payment System,” said Mudavadi.
He noted that in addition to these reforms, the government was also enhancing the Coffee Cherry Advance Revolving Fund to Sh. 6.7 billion, streamlining the Nairobi Coffee Exchange through demutualization, supporting cotton farmers with modern ginning equipment, and modernizing the New KCC plant and equipment.
Mudavadi commended the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA) for its relentless efforts to support financial inclusion in Africa by advocating the SACCO business model.
He said that the Africa Development Educators (ADE) program has been instrumental in enhancing the professionalism and image of SACCOs across the continent, instilling cooperative principles and philosophies among professionals.
“I am happy to note that since its inception in 2014, ADE has sparked change in 36 countries, fostering financial inclusion and economic empowerment for marginalized communities. I also recognize the valuable role played by ACCOSCA in partnership with Visa International,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi, also the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, said the collaboration was transforming communities in Kenya by focusing on youth, women, and marginalized groups.
“Through innovative financial education programs and strategic linkages to cooperatives offering financial services, they are enhancing access and empowering these underserved groups to participate in the formal economy,” he said.
He lauded ACCOSCA’s partnership with Development International Desjardins, the largest credit union network in the world, in establishing a Cooperative Climate Action Plan.
“This plan supports member institutions in adopting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives that promote resilience and sustainability. The African Cooperative Climate Action Plan is a significant step toward helping countries, including Kenya, better preserve and conserve the environment, enhance resilience, adapt to and mitigate climate change, and support the transition to a green and circular economy,” he said.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary said SACCA theme, “The Role of Cooperatives in Promoting Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation,” aligned perfectly with the Kenya Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
BETA he noted, was leading transformative change in the lives of rural and urban poor communities, with a focus on key pillars such as Agricultural Transformation, the MSME Economy, Housing and Settlement, and the Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy.
This theme also reflects the vision articulated in Kenya’s Sessional Paper No. 4 of 2020 on National Cooperative Policy, which underscores “Promoting Cooperatives for Socio-Economic Transformation.”
The gathering, which convened 1,600 participants from 24 countries, provided an excellent platform to explore how our collective savings culture can be harnessed to address the pressing debt issues facing developing countries.
During the congress, Mudavadi advocated for Kenya to host the inaugural World Council of Credit Unions meeting in 2026, marking a historic first for Africa noting that the event will be a pivotal opportunity to showcase our commitment to advancing cooperative principles on the global stage.
The congress was also attended by Cabinet Secretaries, Wycliffe Oparanya from the Ministry of Co-operatives and MSMEs Development, Dr. Andrew Karanja from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and Beatrice Askul from the Ministry of East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), and Regional Development, along with several Principal Secretaries.
