Tabasamu SACCO storms billionaires’ club
NAIROBI-Tabasamu SACCO has crossed the one billion mark to join the league of billionaire SACCOs in Kenya, according to local news agencies that have reported on the financials of the microfinance institution.
The SACCO’s asset base expanded by 9.2 percent, increasing from Ksh 963 million in 2021 to Ksh 1.056 billion in the financial ended December 31, 2022.
According to the SACCO’s chairperson, Felister Mutisya, its loan book rose by 24.7 percent to Ksh 534.2mln during the year under review compared to Ksh 428.3mln reported a year earlier. She was speaking during the 45th annual delegates meeting.
Tabasamu SACCO’s management efforts to improve its capital realised a 36.3 percent growth, rising from Ksh 56.96mln in 2021 to stand at about Ksh 77.66mln. The rise was attributed to members complying with the minimum share capital as stipulated by the bylaws.
To increase its membership and raise the capital base, delegates from this year will be allowed to recruit members from within their jurisdiction as the Society seeks to re-engineer its micro business. This is set to increase its members from the 6,114 reported in 2022 compared to 5,965 in its register in 2021, a 2.5 percent improvement.
Tabasamu SACCO delegates approved a 10 percent dividend rate on members’ deposits in 2022, the same rate as in 2021. The interest rate on members’ non-withdrawable deposits improved by 0.5 percentage points to stand at 4.5 percent, while interest rates on members’ withdrawable deposits, saved in fixed accounts, were retained at 7 percent.
During the year under review, the Society’s turnover improved from about Ksh 153.1mln reported in 2021 to Ksh 173.6mln last year. The 13.4 percent growth was better compared to the 7.8 percent growth recorded in 2021, an increase attributed to members patronizing the Society’s products and services, principally loans and advances.
Buoyed by the return of Mombasa Port activities to the coastal region and clearing of goods, and restoration of container freight stations to Mombasa, Mutisya was confident that the future of the SACCO is brighter.
“This will impact a lot on the growth of the coastal towns and by extension the town on the Mombasa-Uganda corridor. More money will be available and we expect Saccos in this region to be revived,” she was quoted as saying.
Tabasamu SACCO was recognised in the 2022 Ushirika Day celebrations, where it won six awards in various fields. These include the Best in Capitalization, Best managed, best in savings, and credit management DT SACCO among employer-based Tier 4 societies as well as Most efficient management and most improved in the same category.
Mutisya disclosed that the SACCO had successfully repaid a bank loan borrowed to the tune of Ksh 280mln and has no intention of borrowing in the near future. “We intend not to have any external loan from any financial institution in the near future so long as we manage prudently what we have,” she said.
She said the board and management would endeavour only to mobilise funds from existing members and retain more as surplus to improve their liquidity.
To guide the SACCO growth prospects, the management will formulate a new Strategic Plan for 2023-2027 following the lapse of 2019-2022 one. Sensitisation will be done during the education days, scheduled for May and June, 2023.
The SACCO rewarded the highest savers in categories, namely delegates, board of directors, SACCO employees, and Teachers Service Commission [Kwale County] to encourage increased savings. Others included county government employees, retirees, Biashara, the overall highest share capital saver and highest deposit saver.
https://thecooperator.news/kenya-suspends-loans-for-ailing-metropolitan-national-sacco/
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