Chama Loans in Kenya: More and more Kenyans looking to come together and pool resources are increasingly discovering the power of Chamas. In any case, Chamas, Kenyan colloquialism for investment groups, have, for the longest time, a sure path to financial freedom.
Although a good number of them will tend to be dissolved or collapse before they can make any substantial gains, there are many of them that go on to become financial institutions of power, influence, and wealth.
Many of these chamas are helmed and populated mostly by men, and many women’s chamas restrict themselves to merry-go-round activities.
However, more chamas are now starting to go big, pooling their money to reap substantial profit. Their meetings involved team-building activities for members to bond and talks from investment professionals and managers for inspiration and to educate them on investments and internal management structures.
At some point, once a chama has pooled substantial resources together, members will often consider partnering with a bank to access funding for a major purchase such as land or investment.
One of the finest partners a chama can go for is the Co-operative Bank, whose bulk of target audience and members include Sacco and groups.
“We realize that achieving stable finances is central to achieving stability in other areas of life, and come in as a partner in this journey,” says Co-op Bank in a statement.
The bank currently runs the Mkopo wa Kunjengana loan facility which is available to individual group members.
To access this loan, your chama or group must be registered as a self-help group by the relevant government authorities.
“Members will qualify for loan after 8 weeks of training. This loan will be based on a co-guaranteeing mechanism,” says Co-op Bank.
Interestingly, you will get  up to 5 times the accumulated cash collateral savings of your chama, a cheque book, a Co-op Cash debit card, and monthly statements.
To access this facility, your chama’s leadership will do well to visit the Co-op Bank branch nearest to you.