Kenya marks Ushirika Day as Sacco deposits surpass Sh400b mark

Kenya last week marked the International Co-operative Day with the country's total deposits held by the deposit-taking Saccos growing to Sh431.5 billion by the close of 2020 compared to Sh380.4 billion in the previous year - a 13.4 per cent increase.

Cooperative Alliance of Kenya Executive Director Daniel Marube said this year’s celebration, dubbed Ushirika Day, was been based on the steps to full recovery from the ravages of Covid-19.

He said cooperative societies restructured loans worth Sh7.7 billion in December 2020 compared to Sh2 billion in March 2020.

“We know that Covid-19 has had a serious impact, evidenced by some of our members in various cooperative societies and Saccos losing jobs because their mother employers, the companies under which they were employed, closed down, especially in the hospitality and hotel industry,” said Mr Marube.

He said reduced business due to Covid-19 suppressed earnings for Saccos. “There was no saving for people who lost jobs. Many of these people have been living on their savings leading to depressed savings deposits, and high uptake of loans from sectors that were heavily affected by Covid-19,” said noted.

He said total Sacco assets at the end of 2020 rose to Sh627.7 billion, compared to Sh556.7 billion at the end of 2019, a growth of 12.7 per cent. Gross loans hit Sh474.8 billion in December 2020, up from Sh419.6 billion in 2019, a growth of 13.2 per cent.