By Victor J. Njogu | April 7, 2025 In Kenya, money has never been just about numbers. It’s been about people pulling together when life gets hard, lifting each other when opportunities come knocking, and dreams that are bigger than what one person can carry alone. This resonates with why, long before formal banks were established in rural towns or mobile money transfers came to be, Kenyans were already saving, lending, and building futures together. Whether in small village circles or urban estates, the culture of “tuungane tushirikiane” was already shaping how we handled money. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the one-day workshop on Shared Futures: Reciprocity, Savings, and Credit in Kenya, the Ag. Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Nyamongo, noted that the Chamas and SACCOs are solidarity economy entities with shared futures within reciprocity, savings, and credit provision. At the heart of this culture lie two homegrown financial pillars: chamas and Saccos. They are more than systems—they are social institutions, born out of necessity, guided by trust, and now evolving into powerful engines for wealth creation. Their pasts are rich, their present is dynamic, and their future is just beginning to unfold. Prof. Justin Willis, a Professor of History at Durham University, delivered a presentation on the past, present, and the future of Saccos and Chamas: an agenda for historical research during the Workshop, noting that the earliest forms of banking happened around kitchen tables and under trees. People came together to save, lend, and help each other pay school fees, buy seeds, build homes, or get through illness. This wasn’t just charity; it was reciprocity—the unspoken understanding that “today it’s you, tomorrow it’s me.” In addition, Prof. Willis argued that out of this culture came chamas, the informal savings groups that have quietly powered Kenyan communities for decades. Alongside them were Saccos, the more structured cooperatives that gave workers and professionals access to credit when banks wouldn’t. Both are rooted in the same values: trust, transparency, responsibility, and a deep belief that when we move together, we move further. Chamas are also a living archive of our social and economic history. Each one tells a story of women organising quietly in the margins, of communities building wealth without waiting for permission. Scholars are now turning their attention to these groups as crucial players in Kenya’s post-independence development and gender empowerment movements. Representing the Commissioner for Cooperatives in the State Department of Cooperatives at the event, the Workshop’s chief guest and University Council Member, CPA Peter Wanjohi Kiama, encouraged the attendees to engage in research that bridges the gap between knowledge and practice, and ensures a responsive Kenyan cooperative movement. In the African lingual context, the word chama simply means “group” in Kiswahili, but its meaning in Kenyan life runs deeper. Prof. Willis explained from a study perspective that in the 1970s and 80s, chamas were mostly women’s groups—informal, handwritten-ledger savings circles that rotated contributions to help members with family needs or start small businesses without offices or logos, but endowed with discipline, commitment, and cohesion. During panel discussions, it was evident that today, chamas have transformed into smart, ambitious investment engines. Some manage millions, own real estate, trade in stocks, and launch joint ventures. Many are now registered with the Department of Social Protection, opening up access to government support and financial services. While they remain largely informal compared to SACCOs, their impact on household incomes, women’s empowerment, and grassroots development remains massive. Addressing the participants during the Workshop, Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) CEO Mr. Peter Njuguna, explained that solidarity economy needs efficient regulatory frameworks for effective operation and that as both chamas and Saccos evolve—handling larger sums, using digital platforms, and attracting younger members—the question of regulation becomes more urgent and a necessity. Referring to the Sacco Societies Act of 2008, CEO Peter Njuguna expressed that SACCOs are regulated by SASRA (Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority), which ensures proper licensing, audits, risk management, and consumer protection. This oversight gives members confidence that their savings are secure and their loans are responsibly managed. But it’s also a challenge for smaller Saccos that may struggle to meet compliance costs in a fast-digitising economy. Mr. Paul Wanjala, an Advocacy Officer at Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO), highlighted that SACCOs and Chamas play intertwined functions concerning reciprocity, savings, and credit provision in Kenya, and emphasised that the Workshop represented a clear indicator of the empirical evidence to support this assertion. The Workshop deliberations identified that chamas operate in a much greyer regulatory space, with the majority registered as self-help groups under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and having no centralised regulation of their financial practices. This means their success relies heavily on internal governance: trust, elected leadership, and well-written constitutions. And while this works for many, some groups have fallen victim to mismanagement or outright fraud. As chamas increasingly handle investments and scale up, there is a growing need for light-touch regulation—one that offers protection without strangling the flexibility and trust that make chamas so effective. Some experts suggest tiered models: voluntary licensing, financial literacy programs, and access to dispute resolution mechanisms. Others see digital platforms as the future of self-regulation, with apps that track contributions, issue reminders, generate reports, and keep records safe in the cloud.
