Mentor Sacco’s income grow by 11% to hit Kshs 1.32b

GROWTH

Mentor Sacco’s income grows by 11% to hit Kshs 1.32 b

By Kenneth Ochieng

Increased use of Front Office Service Activity (Fosa) has seen Mentor

SACCO income expand by 11 per cent to hit the Kshs 1.32 billion mark in the year ended December 31, 2021.

The impressive income for the year was also as a result of increased borrowing, whose demand was driven up to the Kshs 7.34 billion mark as at 2021’s close compared to Kshs 6.58 billion in loans that the SACCO disbursed the previous year.

Ability of the SACCO to absorb business risks coupled with a renewed business model in the period under review resulted in exemplary results.

Members walked home with a smile on their faces as they approved a 15 per cent dividend payout and a 12.1 per cent interest on non-withdrawable deposits for the period ended December 31, 2021.

The higher dividends payout is accredited to Mentor SACCO’s continued commitment to widen its base, leveraging on regional and zonal representations as an adequate buffer for any challenge in recruiting more members.

Last year, the SACCO recruited 4,517 new members compared to the previous year’s 3,327 entrants. This translates to a 15.1 per cent jump to 28,032 members in 2021.

Empowering members

Commenting on the society’s incredible financial performance during the 45th Annual General Meeting on January 22, 2022 at Mumbi Grounds, Murang’a town, Mentor Chairman Mr Anthony Kamau said that the significant growth was as a result of the SACCO’s initiatives whose main aim was to empower more members to meet their financial needs during the harsh economic times.

“We increased developmental loan repayment period to 96 months and slashed loan disbursement periods to within 48 hours,” said the chairman.

As Covid-19 continued to bite the pockets of most Kenyan, the SACCO empowered its members through a Mavuno advance earlier in October. Additionally, the SACCO increased Quickfix mobile loans to Kshs 60,000, with a new repayment period of six months.

The chairman Mr Kamau stressed that despite the challenging times witnessed in 2021, the SACCO upheld its mission to mobilize savings and provide quality products and services to members.

Murang’a Director of Cooperatives Josephine Mwangi urged members to grow their economic footprint.

“SACCOs have a core function to mentor members on savings and credit,” she said.

She called upon Mentor SACCO’s

female members to utilize the opportunities presented by the SACCO and borrow more for personal development.

Mentor has demonstrated excellent operating performance. The SACCO leads the way in showing that SACCOs can realize impressive growth in diverse sectors while narrowing the loss gap.

Prudent financial management

Driven by smart business decisions, the SACCO’s assets surpassed the Kshs 10.31 billion mark, a 17 per cent increment from Kshs 8.91 billion it posted in 2020.

A contributor to the growth was the shrinking expenditure tab which stood at Kshs 379.48 million as at 2021’s close.

Mentor SACCO ticked all SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority’s (Sasra’s) financial requirement boxes, a sign that the leadership was prudent in its management.

“The SACCO has not borrowed from any financial institution in the last two years, maintaining external borrowing at zero per cent which is below SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority’s (Sasra’s) 25 per cent required minimum,” said the chairman Mr Kamau.

Rosy future

With more earnings expected from a range of sectors this year, the SACCO expects to record positive changes in overall performance.

According to Mentor SACCO Chief executive Joyce Ndegwa, total income for the year is projected to hit Kshs 1.51 billion against a Kshs 1.77 billion provisional budget of 2023.

“If all goes as planned, the projection will leave us with a total of Kshs 948.1 million opening balance come January 2023,” said the CEO.

According to a statement on the Board of Directors’ responsibilities, the SACCO’s cash flow forecast is adequate for its continued operation into this year. In light of this, the SACCO has more room to pay the members higher dividends projected at Kshs 860.22 million.