Botswana is looking to Kenya’s cooperative finance sector for practical lessons on building stronger, sustainable and digitally enabled SACCOs, with Vice President Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe leading a high-level delegation to Kenya National Police DT SACCO.
The delegation visited the SACCO to understand how it has strengthened governance, expanded digital financial services, built financial sustainability and adapted its operations to changing member needs.
The engagement went beyond a courtesy visit, with the Botswana delegation seeking practical lessons that could inform efforts to strengthen the country’s own cooperative sector.
Botswana Seeks Lessons From Kenya
Vice President Gaolathe said the discussions had provided lessons that the delegation could take home and put into practice.
“The discipline of your board members is remarkable. From today’s interactions, we have learned a great deal. We are not only taking learnings with us; we now know what we are going to act on,” he said.
His remarks highlighted the importance Botswana places on learning from Kenya’s experience as it explores approaches to strengthening cooperative institutions and improving services offered to members.
SACCO Governance and Digital Finance in Focus
The benchmarking discussions covered several areas of cooperative management, including governance, member education, savings mobilisation, digital financial services, institutional sustainability and strategic partnerships.
The delegation also examined the broader role of cooperatives in supporting communities through initiatives in areas such as education, healthcare, climate action and community development.
The discussions provided an opportunity for Botswana to examine practical approaches that could potentially be adapted to its own cooperative sector.
Kenya National Police DT SACCO Shares Transformation Journey
Kenya National Police DT SACCO Chairman David Mategwa said the visit demonstrated the importance of African institutions learning from successful approaches within the continent.
“This visit is a testament to the value of sharing African solutions with one another,” Mategwa said.
He said the experience could create opportunities for deeper cooperation between the institutions and contribute to the growth of the cooperative movement across Africa.
Digitalisation Becomes Key to SACCO Growth
Presenting Kenya National Police DT SACCO’s transformation journey, Chief Executive Officer Solomon Angutsa Atsiaya said the institution's progress had been driven by its ability to continuously adapt to the needs of its members.
“Our transformation has been driven by a simple principle: a SACCO must continuously evolve around the needs of its members,” Atsiaya said.
He said the SACCO was pleased to share both the progress it had made and lessons from its transformation journey, including challenges it had faced along the way.
Atsiaya also said the institution remained interested in learning from Botswana as sustainable transformation required a two-way exchange.
Digitalisation was among the key areas highlighted during the engagement, with Atsiaya describing the SACCO’s digital platform as its “biggest branch.”
He also emphasised the continued importance of strengthening members’ savings culture.
Kenya and Botswana Open Door for Further Cooperation
The engagement also created an opportunity for further cooperation between Kenya and Botswana.
Vice President Gaolathe invited the leadership of Kenya National Police DT SACCO to Botswana for a reciprocal learning visit.
The proposed visit would allow both institutions to exchange experiences and explore areas of cooperation around governance, innovation, financial inclusion and sustainable cooperative growth.
For Botswana, the engagement provides an opportunity to draw from Kenya’s experience and identify approaches that can be adapted to its cooperative sector.
For Kenya National Police DT SACCO, the proposed reciprocal visit offers an opportunity to share its transformation journey while learning from Botswana’s own experience.
The two institutions are therefore looking to develop the engagement beyond a one-off benchmarking exercise, with continued knowledge exchange expected to focus on practical African solutions that can be adapted to different markets.
