Kenya’s Co-op movement set for profile boost

NAIROBI: The Kenyan co-operative movement is set for a major profile boost when it hosts the African Confederation of Co-operative Savings and Credit Association (Accosca) conference next month.

The event, which is being held in Kenya for the first time, is expected to bring together at least 1,000 players in the sector from 30 countries. The conference has previously been held in South Africa, Lesotho, Uganda and Swaziland.

It will be hosted in the coastal town of Kwale from October 26-30, and is aimed at deepening the co-operative movement’s growth in Africa.

Kenya is ranked one of the leading economies in the continent as regards its co-operative culture, with the fourth-highest penetration at 19.02 per cent, and 1,995 saccos at the end of 2013, according to the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority.

According to Accosca’s chief executive, George Ombado, the conference is a vote of confidence in the gains the country has made.

“We are looking at this very important conference as an avenue to deepen the growth we have witnessed in the past decade. It will also be a platform to share and exchange knowledge from all over the globe. More important is the fact that we shall exchange perspectives on governing the sector,” he said.

The conference, which is also expected to act as a peer review mechanism, will seek to explore ways of promoting youth participation in the co-operative movement.

“Given that the youth are now getting economic opportunities through employment and entrepreneurship, we want to take advantage of their appetite for financial inclusion in the economy.”

HOUSING CRISIS

The event will be hosted by the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (Kussco), with the organisation’s MD, George Ototo, saying the sector has created thousands of jobs and helped reduce the country’s housing crisis by enabling co-operators access mortgage products.

Mr Ototo put the sector’s financial stake in the country at more than Sh460 billion.

“The sector is expected to grow further this year.”

Increased political will and inclusion of women have been identified among the factors driving the movement’s growth.