For just sh. 100, Mia Afrika Sacco creates an avenue for young businesses to grow.
 |
| Chairman and CEO of Mia Afrika Sacco Ltd Mr. Sam Chege popularly known as MC Sam. |
Mia Afrika Sacco Ltd is a savings and credit institution
that allows its members to save as little as sh. 100 daily for an intended
project in future.
The idea of setting a daily deposit of Sh. 100 was informed
by the need to accommodate low-income earners such as the mama mbogas, egg
hawkers, shoe shiners and other small businesses that find it difficult to
raise the amount of money demanded by available Saccos locally.
“Sometimes ago, I had a one-on-one chit chat with a street
vendor who was selling boiled eggs to construction workers and he made me view
the idea of saving very differently. He narrated to me of how he struggled to
raise capital to buy a trolley for use in his business, something that hindered
his growth,” explains MC Sam.
According to the vendor, it was very hard to save Sh. 2,500
required to buy the trolley he needed since he could not fit into any of the
available Saccos locally due to their terms and conditions.
“He told me that most of them required him to register with
sh. 2,000 and have monthly contributions that didn’t match his earnings,” he
adds.
It was from their conversation that the idea of Mia Afrika Sacco
Ltd. was born a name derived from the least amount one can contribute as a
member.
“To join the Sacco, one is required to pay Sh. 300
registration fee and start depositing at least Sh. 100 daily which translates
to about Sh. 3,000 per month. The members also have a chance to own the Sacco
by buying shares,” says Sam.
Sam says that the main objective of this Sacco was to enable
people who have little income to save and access credit facilities to boost
their livelihoods. He adds that his idea basically seeks to promote a culture
of pooling savings in very small amounts on a daily basis so as to make
possible to as many people as possible to be able to save for a particular
project.
Other products.
Mia Africa Sacco offers loans to its members to up to three
times their savings at an interest of 1% reducing balance.
The Sacco also have other lucrative products such as the ‘Anza
Biashara Saving Plan’, ‘Elimu Tayarisha Savings Plan’, ‘Inua
Biashara Savings Plan’ and “Pata Kifaa Savings Plan’.
Anza Biashara Savings Plan is a package that offers business
startups with instant loans of between sh. 3,000 and sh. 10,000 to start business
of their choice.
“Here we jump-start business startups with some quick capital
without any collateral. However, before we do so, we sit down with the member
and discuss with them how they are going to repay this money. We also ensure
that the money is strictly spent on the intended purpose to avoid misuse that
eventually lead to default in repayment,” explains Sam.
The Pata Kifaa savings Plan is similar to Anza Biashara
Savings Plan but targets young startups who had trained in a particular skill
but have been hindered by the lack of the requisite equipment to jumpstart
their business venture.
In this package, Mia Afrika Sacco buys the equipment for
them and guide them on how to save and repay their loan.
The Elimu Tayarisha Plan is an education package where
parents save money for a given time with a
view to eventually withdraw it for
their children’s school fees.
At the moment, the management is targeting mostly the
resident of Kamenu Ward in Thika where the Sacco Offices are located (opposite
Smiles near the Kamenu stage in Makongeni). However, it is open to any resident
of Thika whose vision is to save money for a particular project in future.
“What I can assure all our members is that their Sacco will
always walk with them all the way. Members’ relationship is very key to our
business and we endeavour to be part and parcel of their growth,” concludes the
chairman.
No comments: