The Unity Sacco Society limited was conceived out of need for a more flexible, tailor-made and inclusive financial systems to provide solidarity support to largely underserved last-mile segments of the society whose sources of income and livelihoods have been affected by multiple global crises that have defied conventional Interventions.

Established in 2018 and registered as a non-Deposit-taking Sacco, we have enabled our valued members, primarily smallholder producers drawn from commodity associations to access capital, financial products and related services. This has ultimately helped our members to build financial assets, promote entrepreneurship, and start enterprises within the value chain that have created jobs, and helped restore hope, dignity, build resilience and transform livelihoods.

As any other institution whose resilience was tested – and shaken – by the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbating the climate change-fueled drought that had plunged agriculture-dependent population into despair, we endured and rose to overcome the turmoil triggered by the two crises that collapsed many organizations. However, it didn’t escape lessons to us that ensuring a resiliently sound financial position during times of both prosperity and instability is essential in securing financial well-being and upward socio-economic mobility of people, society and economies.

The bedrock of our Membership remains smallholder producers of sorghum, sunflower and honey, as well as Small Micro enterprises and Small Internal Lending Communities (SILCs) driven by these commodities. Conscious that they ought to live in interdependence nature, adapt and build resilience to the unpredictably changing climate, our members actively participate in initiatives that contribute to national sustainable development and adaptation plans.

What makes us completely different from conventional SACCO practices whose focus is saving and lending, is that we work in solidarity with our members, first by jointly identifying their needs, working together to define the niche and walking the journey towards realizing their dream, translating
it into reality. We consider ourselves, our members and partners as risk takers navigating through “unchartered waters” conventional investors consider no-go zones – where we work with businesspeople, and persons in informal employment, investment micro-groups (SILCs) and start-ups to co-create and incubate ideas that ultimately evolve into transformative initiatives.