How the pandemic is accelerating Imarika SACCO’s digital switchover

to enhance prompt responses to customer queries.

Q: What are some of the digital products and services that your SACCO has unveiled in this period? Are there more in the pipeline?

We have launched the Imarika Mobile banking app, a virtual tool that seeks to drive up the uptake of credit, especially targeting the salaried and non-salaried members.

Further, the joy of living in a decent house is no longer just a wish but a reality for our membership through Makao Loan and Ujenzi Loan under the cooperative’s mortgage offering.

Our PayBill 4404404 is enabling members, including groups, churches, or corporates to make direct deposits from their virtual wallets. We are also planning to have a payment system where members can pay for electricity, and water among other bills.

Q: Banking has traditionally relied on face-to-face interactions with customers, how does the new normal with digital banking look like for you?

The world is becoming technologically interconnected hence the need for users to access banking services with ease. Imarika DT SACCO is trailblazing in this area with mobile banking, and e-loan service, Mkono Hewani, targeting both the business community and the salaried members.

At the moment, our group of savers in the diaspora can transact virtually, including making applications for loans through emails, which we usually verify before disbursing the loans. The society plans to further leverage on modern technologies such as WhatsApp, money transfer apps, utility payments systems, and the internet to improve access to financial services amongst youth, diaspora communities, and SMEs. We believe that this will make us the most trusted SACCO of choice both in rural and urban areas.

Imarika Sacco CEO Mr. George Yongo Q: As a Sacco, what are the other new areas of focus you are working on that are unique to the region apart from the Digitization of products and services?

It is our considered view that agriculture and agribusiness remain untapped sectors in Kenya. We intend to customize our products for livestock farmers and traders, and the fisher folk with a view to financing the agricultural value chain, especially the traders/ retailers of various commodities.

As part of enhancing financial inclusion, we plan to make everybody feel that they are welcome and they can save within their ability, even as little as KSh100 per month instead of running a dormant account as this will help boost our liquidity position.

To grow our membership, plans are underway to rollout online selfregistration, and remote account opening as a move to woo the digitally savvy millennial generation into our society.

Our 2022-2026 Strategic Plan envisions procuring service providers for time-saving tools such as Machine Learning-Based Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and trusted remote ID verification, tools that will see us, onboard members, globally.

Lastly, we plan to unveil a secure digital lending channel where all loans can be applied, appraised, disbursed, and recovered online with limited human face-to-face interaction.