Canada-based diaspora Sacco unveil Sharia-compliant loan products

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Kenyans living and working in Canada can now access Sharia-compliant loans after Pamoja Canada Diaspora Sacco unveiled compliant loan products during the Salama Community Association Annual Summer Barbeque in Canada.

The Sharia-compliant product is set to facilitate loans for emergency, education and asset finance. According to the sacco, the facilities are designed to provide ethical, accessible and inclusive financing options without conventional interest.

They will support qualifying members facing emergencies, or those pursuing education and professional development, and seeking to acquire personal, residential, commercial or income-generating assets.

Sacco chairman Ephraim Mwaura said although the Sacco is still a growing institution, inclusivity has been embedded in its operations from the beginning.

“Through these Sharia-compliant products, we want to create an environment in which members of the Muslim community can save, invest and access financing in a manner that respects their faith and financial principles,"Mwaura said.

He encouraged the wider Kenyan Muslim diaspora community to embrace the sacco as a member-owned financial institution and to participate actively through savings, use of its services and involvement in its governance.

“The need for inclusive and ethical financial services extends beyond Canada. We respectfully urge the State Department of Cooperatives to consider allowing these services to reach all Kenyans in the diaspora regardless of where they are located across the world," he said.

Kenya High Commissioner to Canada, Amb Geoffrey Kaituko described the move as an investment opportunity that will promote financial empowerment, savings and wealth creation.

He further said the investment in an opportunity to promote unity, mutual support, peace, social cohesion and the preservation of Kenyan cultural heritage in Canada.

“The introduction of Sharia-compliant financial products provides an inclusive investment opportunity for members of our community while promoting financial empowerment, savings and wealth creation,” said Kaituko in his speech read by Salama Community Association Chairman Osman Shariff.

The ambassador said the Kenya High Commission is committed to working with Kenyans and diaspora organisations across Canada.

He also highlighted the Kenyan diaspora’s contributions through professional excellence, investments, remittances, philanthropy, skills transfer, mentorship and community development initiatives.

Pamoja Canada Diaspora Sacco was launched in June 2024, being the first Kenyan diaspora sacco to offer Sharia-compliant products serving Kenyans in Canada and returnees to Kenya.

It is also among the pioneering Saccos in Kenya to introduce Sharia-compliant sacco services.

Approximately 10 per cent of its current membership comes from the Muslim community in Canada.

The organisation emphasised that the launch represents an important step toward addressing financial exclusion among community members whose faith and values do not permit participation in conventional interest-based financing.