Cooperative Societies

A cooperative society is a member-owned business that operates for the benefit of its members. It is based on the principles of voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for the community.

• Types of Co-operative Societies

  • Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCO): Members put their savings together and use the pooled funds to access affordable credit. SACCOs can be employer-based or community based.
  • Agriculture/producer/ marketing cooperatives: Formed by farmers/producers in order to access quality affordable inputs and markets through aggregation.
  • Housing/investment cooperatives: Members of these cooperatives come together in order to purchase land/property jointly.
  • Workers-based cooperatives: Formed by skilled workers/businessmen in a common practice to enable them source for business jointly.
  • Transport cooperatives: Owners of public transport vehicles come together to register a co-operative to enable them run a structured transport system.
  • Consumer cooperatives: Individuals form a consumer cooperative so that they pool their resources and purchase consumer goods in bulk.
  • Multi-purpose co-operatives: This is a type of co-operative that offers a combination of two or more of the services

• Benefits of Joining a Co-operative Society

  • Economies of scale – Members of a cooperative come together in order to pool their resources and access affordable investments opportunities.
  • Investment opportunities – pooled funds are used to make collective investments eg. assets/ equipment.
  • Access to affordable credit services with relaxed collateral requirements
  • Returns on investments – Surplus made from the investment is shared with members in the form of dividends
  • Financial literacy – Members get an opportunity to be trained on financial concepts such as savings, investments, insurance, entrepreneurship, and diversification.
  • Decision making – Since the members are the shareholders, they have an opportunity to make decisions pertaining to how the Co-operative will be run.
  • Financial independence – Members gain financial independence through saving, investment & return on the investments.
  • Social benefits – Builds members cohesiveness as they relate closely with each other

• Requirements for opening a Co-operative Society Account

  • Copy and original certificate of registration of the Co-operative Society
  • Original and copy of the by-laws/constitution (stamped by the State Directorate of Co-operatives)
  • Board resolution/ minutes authorizing the opening of the account signed as per the by-laws. Must detail the names of the account signatories, account currency, and signing mandate of the signatories with the attendance list.
  • Copy and original national IDs of the signatories.
  • Recent color passport-size photos of the signatories.
  • Funds for depositing in the account – USD. 200 or SSP. 100,000 depending on the currency of the account.
  • All documents stamped bearing the name of the Co-operative Society Ltd.
  • Co-op bank account opening form provided at the Bank branch.