Siraji Sacco secures Ksh.170M post-COVID World Bank funding

AVLC Group on Friday handed over a Ksh.170 million offer letter to Siraji Savings and Credit Co-operative Society Ltd, marking the latest disbursement under a World Bank-backed financing programme aimed at revitalising Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya that were adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Siraji Sacco is a SASRA-compliant cooperative society that supports small and medium-sized enterprises through access to affordable credit.

The issuance of the facility comes two months after Githunguri Sacco similarly benefited from a Ksh.500 million loan, structured by AVLC Group and sourced from the World Bank through the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC), to enhance access to small loans for its members.

The World Bank established the business loans facility to cushion SMEs from the economic shock triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Kenya, the funds are channelled through KDC, with several SACCOs already having accessed financing under the programme.

The facilities carry a tenure of between three and five years at an interest rate of nine per cent, offering cooperative societies long-term, affordable capital to support enterprise recovery and growth.

The latest financing is expected to provide a significant boost to Siraji Sacco at a time when businesses continue to grapple with evolving economic conditions.

Beneficiaries say the funding will play a critical role in stabilising operations and accelerating financial recovery for affected members.

AVLC Group called on more SACCOs across the country to apply for consideration under the programme, noting that cooperative societies remain a critical link in extending credit to MSMEs at the grassroots level and strengthening the country’s broader economic recovery.

“During Covid time, there was a lot of damage done to the MSMEs. Saccos are one of the best avenues to reach those businesses because they’re on the ground, they understand the need, they have customized the need for their clients and they’re able to collect feedback continuously to ensure that they walk through the journey of recovery,” said Mr. Kanyutu.

Siraji Sacco Chief Executive Officer Felix Ochieng said the funding will directly support members whose businesses were disrupted during the pandemic, citing the devastating impact of lockdown measures on key sectors.

“We’re glad that KDC has approved for us Ksh.170 million which we’re going to utilize to support our members who were affected by Covid. Siraji Sacco was affected…we had our members who were doing poultry, and when Covid came there was lockdown when we had 22,000 birds ready. We had contracts and were supplying those birds to hotels in Nairobi. It came a day when the government said that there was lockdown so there was no movement,” said Mr. Ochieng.