Harambee Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (Sacco) is strengthening its Millionaires’ Club (MC) to give more of its members the opportunity to meet and network with local, regional and international entrepreneurs.
The opportunity will enable members to exchange ideas and learn how other businessmen deal with challenges in their areas.
The Sacco’s chairman Mr Macleod Malonza further announced that the Millionaires Club has embarked on a series of countrywide tours organizing seminars where members are taught on the necessary skills to run a business effectively so that they become better placed at making well-informed decisions.
To be eligible for Millionaires Club’s membership, one has to amass the Sacco’s savings worth Sh1 million or above either over a period of time or through a single Sh1 million cash deposit in the Sacco’s account.
Malonza indicated that through the MC that was inaugurated last year, members also get to learn how to improve their creditworthiness and receive comprehensive financial education.
He explained that the club was equipping its members with the essential knowledge and skills required to secure and strengthen their financial well-being, ultimately fostering a more financially resilient society.
The chairman described MC as a value-added service for its members that gives them financial lessons on networking through the platform. The training has also focused on debt management, savings, budgeting, financial and banking services and prudent investing.
Speaking in Nakuru when he chaired a meeting of the club’s members, Malonza indicated that by participating in local, regional and international trips, members will be linked “to the right minds in the business world”.
He added that they were also equipping them with skills on risk diversification, inflation, numeracy, and interest compounding.
Malonza disclosed that the Millionaires’ Club has both inhouse and external sourced coaches, financial advisors who are tailored to give entrepreneurs the much-needed comfort since the journey of setting up a venture is never easy.
The chairperson observed that upcoming businessmen have to constantly deal with many challenges which drain them emotionally, financially and physically, which the club was determined to tackle.
According to Malonza, through the club, those members with a brand could get it recognized and marketed which is difficult if one was to source for business opportunities on a personal platform.
He said Harambee Sacco was harnessing benefits of the club, which include boosting their members’ business potential while maintaining their loyalty.
“The primary aim in this undertaking is to give the club’s members who are business owners exposure through organizing training forums,” said Malonza.
The Sacco is betting on partnerships with real estate developers, industries and service providers such as airlines, logistics companies, and hotels to open opportunities for networking among club members as well as with the international business world.
While training sessions have been the main strategy used by the Sacco to boost members’ business potential, focus is now also laid on setting up platforms through the club that allowed for interaction with the global business community.
Malonza observed that business people are always seeking opportunities to grow and as such, there is a desire for constant travel and link with outside markets.
However, he noted that for many, this dream is never realised because of the high cost that comes with travelling hence most were restricted to the local market adding that through the clubs, members pool resources making travelling cheaper.
Malonza disclosed that the Sacco was driving a membership and share capital targeting a net minimum of Sh4 billion by 2025 and had put in place strategies to grow the current membership from 80,000 to 200,000 in the next four years.
The chairperson revealed that the Sacco would open satellite branches in Kisii, Embu, Meru and Machakos before the end of the year.
He said that members of the club were eligible for loan repayment periods of up to 9 years.
Malonza said that the Sacco was setting up structures for a Project Management Unit to measure the success of development projects initiated by its members.
This, he added, would be done through various parameters including completion within budget, projected time for completion and scope that was supposed to be covered.
He said projects should also meet certain quality parameters and should be fit for purpose as it made no sense to carry out a project that could not serve the intended purpose.
Harambee Sacco Chief Executive Officer Dr George Ochiri noted that they had developed products for retirees whom he observed have unique needs that may not be fully met by the conventional Sacco products and services.
This, he said, is because of the retirees’ low borrowing appetite and sometimes they may be devoid of a regular source of income to commit to regular savings contributions.
Dr Ochiri stated that this category of “senior citizens” has unique features such as low minimum monthly saving contribution or no monthly savings contribution but with a compromised dividend payment rate.
He stated that the Sacco could provide a dividend management plan that would involve making some cash deduction from the dividend income earned to cater for the required monthly savings contributions while the balance is distributed into a monthly income.
Dr Ochiri indicated that Harambee was mulling over reviewing its regulations to have retirees represented both on its board and delegates system, adding that they (retirees) would also be given opportunity or roles as mentors to share with younger members why they needed to enhance their savings contribution and retain their membership in the Sacco for their whole lifetime.
He stated that the Sacco is now offering housing loans of up to Sh8 million on the back of funds from the State-owned Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC).
The loans which were previously capped at Sh4 million are pegged at 9 percent interest rate for up to 25-year mortgages.
Harambee Sacco has over 80,000 members in 174 branches across the country. It draws its membership mainly from the Kenya Defence Forces, the National Police Service, the National Youth Service, the national and county governments, government parastatals and departments and constitutional bodies.
The CEO said he was happy that Harambee Sacco was now attracting young members and added that its asset base grew from Sh37.01 billion in 2022 to Sh38.5 billion in 2023, while its share capital increased by 8 per cent to Sh2.34 billion.
The Sacco also granted loans worth Sh29.13 billion in 2023, up from Sh27.23 billion in 2022.
By Jane Ngugi and Dennis Rasto
