The growth of deposit taking SACCOs just like that of banks thrives on trust and the confidence of members and depositors.
Saccos have earned their distinction as providers of cheap loans to the low- and middle-income segments of our society, for their personal needs like school fees, housing and even small business ventures.
Whether they started off as rural-based agricultural or as employer-based urban nascent table banking groupings, many of them have grown into financial institutions with billions of shillings in assets and have financial muscles rivalling some commercial banks in Kenya.
Kenya’s Vision 2030 blue-print recognises the big role that savings and credit co-operatives play as a catalyst for economic growth by mobilizing savings and deepening access and uplifting lives in the community through financial inclusion.
The SACCO Awards will give awardees a voice and a platform to showcase to their success to stakeholders and to demonstrate their performance, regulatory compliance, innovativeness governance and good corporate citizenship.
The Awards are open to SACSOs regulated by the Sacco Regulatory Authority (SASRA) and the process starts with the collection and analysis of published financial data of all participating SACCOs.
Recognize and Award players excellence in innovation and service delivery
The Best SACCO in Kenya 2023 will be the SACCO that best demonstrates the following: Commitment to Environment, Social and Governance factors (EGS) best practices, products and process innovation, good customer ratings on its products and services as well as solid financial performance.
From each Tier, all SACCOs are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 1, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.
Tier I are SACCOs with total assets in excess of Ksh. 5 Billion. All SACCOs under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 2, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.
Tier II are SACCOs with total assets less than Ksh 5 Billion but more than Ksh. 1 Billion. All SACCOs under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 1, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.
Tier III are SACCOs with total assets less than Ksh 1 Billion. All SACCOs under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 1, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.
A tariff survey on SACCO tariffs will inform the winners in this category. An index for SACCOs based on the charges levied to their customers. The basis of the rankings will be on three scenarios modeled around the SACCO activities of three typical customers then assessing how each customer would have been charged for similar transactions by each SACCO over a twelve-month period. The SACCOs will then be ranked from the lowest in charges to the highest. There will be two sub categories for this category
This category is open to all SACCOs. The wining SACCO will need to be financially stable, as evidenced in our analysis and also score well in ESG factors. Most importantly, this award is given to the SACCO with the lowest overall charge for a borrower taking a loan, these include legal and setup fees.
The category looks at the overall customer experience with their SACCOs. A country wide Customer Satisfaction Survey commissioned by Think Business and conducted by Infotrak Research & Consulting, amongst other information derived from entry document will be used to determine the winners.
Customers are looking for convenient SACCO, Mobile banking offers them this opportunity and the SACCO that will survive the competition is the SACCO that offers the most effective mobile banking application.
Internet banking has grown tremendously over the years among SACCOs. This category will award the best SACCO in provision of internet banking as an alternative channel to its customers particularly through a website
Several SACCOs in Kenya have embraced agency banking as a means to spread their network, moving services closer to the people and easing congestion in their FOSA halls. The advent of agency banking is already lowering the cost of doing business for many SACCOs
Entry is open to all products in the SACCO sector that entrants feel is most innovative. The judges will be looking for breakthrough products developed through cutting edge design, research and development that has redefined the market by improving usability, access and value to the customer.
Here the judges typically assess the product that was presented and delivered most effectively to the market. The winning entry will be that product that offers greater value to the customer based on the core elements of marketing – the SACCO’s pricing model, distribution network, promotional strategy and value addition of the product. Through a survey, SACCO customers are also asked to state what SACCO products were effectively sold to them.
This is open to all SACCOs who lend to SMEs. First, they are assessed on ESG factors and financial soundness using the ten key financial ratios that are also used to determine the Best SACCO in Kenya with a maximum score of 60% (
This award shall be won by a chief executive in any of the SACCOs deemed by the judges to have made the greatest contribution in the growth of their SACCO’s business in 2022.
This category is open to SACCOs that have Mortgage Finance products.
This is open to all full-fledged Islamic SACCOs and other commercial SACCOs with Islamic SACCO windows. Under this category, SACCOs are first assessed on the basis of corporate governance and financial soundness (of the Islamic component).
The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters that are used in The SACCO Survey rankings, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.
This category is open to SACCOs that offer Asset Financing
This category is open to SACCOs that offer Agriculture Financing.
The judges assess the SACCOs offering Micro-credit. This category is open to SACCOs offering micro-credit products under the following definitions:
It is important that SACCOs offering services to the micro segment are first and foremost, financially stable to mitigate against the risk of these customers losing their money. Hence the need to subject them to a financial stability assessment. They should also buy into ESG factors.
This shall basically be determined by the lowest cost income ratio in 2022. This is a financial ratio that looks at what it costs to generate a certain level of income. All the SACCOs are assessed equally regardless of size.
The Judges will be looking at the most sustainable turnaround from loss making to profitability. The winner will be the SACCO that has sustained profitability for at least three years.
The critical need for corporates to be socially responsible by giving back to society cannot be gainsaid. The objective of this award is to recognize SACCOs that are doing well on this front and to encourage those that have not embraced CSR to do the same. The Judges will be looking at organizations that have adopted a CSR policy and continued commitment to sustainability.
Digital technology is dramatically changing how SACCOs interact with their customers. Social media is transforming SACCO relationships in very significant ways, from improving customer service to allowing users to send money to others via online platforms.
This is a new category that aims at showcasing tomorrow’s pacesetters in the Kenyan SACCO industry. The entrant should be below 35 years and working in the SACCO sector. The entrant should have shown the ability to generate new ideas, drive innovation and sustainable growth. Through his or her deeds (actions) the individual should have positively changed the fortunes his/her institution to the benefit of customers, colleagues, counterparties, communities and the SACCO sector. Submissions may be sent by the employing institution or by a person other than the entrant.
This award is given in recognition of innovative products developed outside the SACCO sector but which have a major impact on the lives of existing and potential SACCO customers. The judges will be looking for breakthrough products developed through cutting edge design, research and development that have redefined the market by improving usability, access and value to the customer.
We invite CEOs of SACCOs to send in nominations for long serving individuals in the SACCO sector, active, retired or posthumous for considerations for the lifetime achievement in SACCO.
The individual must have spent at least 20 years in SACCO and has had an outstanding and made a lasting contribution to the growth of the sector.
We are pleased to invite you to participate in our inaugural
Think Business SACCO Awards 2023.
Think Business Limited,
4th Flr. Delta Corner Annex, Wayiaki Way, Westlands, Nairobi
P.O. Box 12800 – 00100 GPO, Nairobi
Website: www.thinkbusinessafrica.com