MENTOR SACCO : A JOURNEY OF AUDACITY AND RESILIENCE

Tier  one sacco upgrades  its  core banking system  in response  to  the fast growth in membership

By George Gichuki

 Established  in 1977  by only  five  hundred  and  forty six  members,  Mentor Sacco ‘s  journey    for close to five decades   is  quite captivating. From a very humble beginning,   the tier one   Sacco  has over  the years grown in leaps  and  bounds.  It  is regulated by  the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority ( SASRA) and has an asset base of over Kshs. 14 billion.  Its membership is   currently close to  fifty  thousand   and still growing.

  One of Mentor  Sacco’s major achievements in 2024 has been the upgrade of its core banking system to enhance efficiency against a background of  fast  growth  in   membership  and  uptake  of digital  products.  “  The previous  system  was  launched  when  our membership  was only  ten  thousand but  this  has  grown very   fast in the recent past  and  hence  the need to put in  place a robust  system,”  says  Mr. Eliud Nguma, Chairman, Mentor Sacco.

 Riding on a versatile mobile banking platform dubbed Mentor Quick Cash,  the Sacco  has  been able  to offer  its  products  and services   even  in areas  where it doesn’t  have a physical  presence.  This  has  enhanced  its  growth.  “  Based  on  our  monthly   reviews,  the savings  and loan book  of our Sacco have grown in 2024 ,”  Mr.  Nguma further  says.  “ We are  therefore looking forward to declaring  handsome dividends and interest during  our Annual General Meeting ( AGM) in January, 2025,” he adds.

Expansion

In this day and age of digitization, it has become possible for  Saccos and other financial  institutions  to  offer their  services and products  remotely.  Be it as it may,  the ‘touch and feel’  experience  that many customers yearn for is only possible through visits  to   physical  branches.  Additionally, physical  branches enhance the visibility of brands  which plays a pivotal role in attracting  more customers.  Against  this background, Mentor Sacco is opening a branch in Kiambu  town  as part of its strategy  to win more members and take services closer to them.  “We decided to launch a full-fledged branch  in Kiambu town  after  our membership  in the region  grew  a lot and hence the need to serve them efficiently and effectively,”  Mr. Nguma  says.

Standing out

Ranked  fourteenth by SASRA in its  2023   Sacco   Supervision Annual   report,  Mentor  is one  of the fastest  growing   tier one Saccos in Kenya.  “ We develop  products  based   on the needs of our members  and  consequently,  our profits   and membership  have been growing  steadily year on year,”  observes Mr. Nguma.

Through  its upgraded  core banking system,  members are now  able  to access  various  products  and services  at their comfort ;  be  they at home or workplaces.  This  saves  them valuable time and  money  since they do not have to visit   the physical  branches.

Investment  groups ( popularly known as chamas) are very popular among Kenyans.   In this regard, like-minded people  working  in the same organization ,  from the same profession  or line of business  pool resources  with an aim of achieving various    socio-economic  goals.  It  is a  common  trend    for teachers   ( who form the bulk  of Mentor Sacco’s  membership)  working  in the same station  or hailing from the same locality  to form investment  groups.  To address  the needs of these groups,  Mentor Sacco  has developed a product for them dubbed chama account.  This product ( just as it is the case for individual accounts) also earns dividends and interest every year.  This benefit has motivated  many  members to open chama  accounts at Mentor Sacco.

As a responsible corporate citizen,  Mentor Sacco gives back  to the community  through a programme  targeting  vulnerable and  elderly members  residing  in the areas where it has a presence.  The programme has for instance benefited Murang’a GK Prison.  The other programme is a partnership with the Ministry of Education.  In this regard,   Mentor Sacco sponsors  events  organized by the said   ministry  for the benefit of teachers, learners  and other stakeholders in  the education field.

Mentor Sacco also  stands out because  of organizing  members’  education, training and information  forums as  outlined  in the co-operative  principles.  This  programme runs  from  May to June every year.  “ During  these  forums, besides  training and educating our members, we also get feedback  from them on  how to grow our Sacco,” says Mr. Nguma.  “ By and large, the forums  have helped  us   to  build  a very strong relationship  with our members,” he ends.