Loss-making Saccos rise on weak earnings
Financial Standard
By
Graham Kajilwa
| Nov 03, 2026
The number of Saccos that recorded double-digit growth last year decreased, with a sharper drop being reported among non-withdrawable deposit-taking Saccos (NWDT-Saccos).
Analysis of the Sacco Supervision Annual Report 2025 also shows an increase in the number of Saccos whose income growth contracted in the period.
Of this category, the negative income growth was more pronounced among deposit-taking Saccos (DT-Saccos), as the number increased by 47.4 per cent - from 19 Saccos in 2024 to 28 in 2025.
The number of NWDT-Saccos with a negative income growth during the period went up 24.3 per cent, from 37 to 46.
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As more Saccos recorded negative income growth, the number of entities that reported a double-digit growth in the period also went down.
From 116 DT Saccos that had an income growth of 10 per cent and above in 2024, the number dropped to 92 in 2025.
Similarly, from 87 NWDT Saccos that had an income growth rate of above 10 per cent in 2024, the number slowed down to 29 in 2025.
“The analysis by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) indicates that 132 NWDT-Saccos registered positive growth in total income in 2025, compared to 141-NWDT-Saccos recorded in 2024.
“Conversely, 46-NWDT-Saccos recorded negative growth in total income, up from 37-NWDT-Saccos in 2024. This trend points to a weakening in income generation among NWDT-Saccos during the review period,” reads the report by Sasra.
The distribution by Sasra shows that 29 NWDT-Saccos registered growth rates above 10 per cent, translating into an absolute increase in total income of Sh1.28 billion.
Some 35 NWDT-Saccos recorded growth rates between five and 10 per cent, contributing Sh190 million to total income, and 68 NWDT-Saccos reported growth rates between 0.1 per cent and five per cent, accounting for an increase of Sh80 million in total income.
For negative income growth, of the 46 NWDT-Saccos that experienced declines in total income, 16 ranged between negative five and 0.1 per cent, collectively amounting to losses of Sh30 million.
A similar loss was recorded for the nine NWDT-Saccos which recorded declines in total income ranging between negative five and negative 10 per cent.
Some 21-NWDT-Saccos recorded declines in total income below negative 10 per cent, amounting to a cumulative reduction of Sh12 million.
In the DT-Saccos category, 17 businesses registered a marginal decline in their total income between negative five and 0.1 per cent, with a cumulative decline of Sh18 million in 2025 compared to six (DT-Saccos) which had their total income the same in 2024.
The report also shows that seven DT-Saccos recorded a decline in their total income of between negative five and negative 10 per cent, with a cumulative reduction of Sh12 million in total income in 2025.
This is compared to two DT-Saccos with a cumulative decline of Sh19 million in their total income in 2024.
Some four DT-Saccos recorded a negative 10 per cent, with a cumulative decline of Sh1.27 billion in 2025, compared to 11 DT-Saccos with a cumulative decline in their total income of Sh12 million in 2024.
The findings in the Sasra report indicate that a total of 151 DT-Saccos recorded a positive growth in their total income in 2025 compared to 159-DT-Saccos in 2024.
“The cumulative amount of growth in their total income, however, reduced from Sh18.08 billion in 2024 to Sh16.92 billion in 2025,” the report shows.
A total of 92 DT-Saccos had their incomes grow by over 10 per cent, which represented Sh13.26 billion of the total income, compared to 116 DT Saccos with a total income of Sh16.85 billion in 2024.
Some 40-DT-Saccos had their total income grow by between five and 10 per cent, which represented Sh3.31 billion of the total income in 2025, compared to 25 DT-Saccos with a total income of Sh1.03 billion in 2024.
“19-DT-Saccos had their total income grow by between zero and five per cent, which represented a total income of Sh35 million in 2025 compared to 18-DT-Saccos with a total income of Sh19 million in 2024,” the report says.