Kenya’s SACCO Industry Has Crossed KSh1 Trillion. What Does That Mean for Members?

Kenya’s regulated SACCO industry crossed the KSh1 trillion mark in 2024. By March 2026, total assets had risen further to KSh1.211 trillion.

That is more than a headline. It shows how much money Kenyan SACCOs now manage through member deposits, loans, reserves, investments, cash and property. It also places the sector firmly among the country’s major financial institutions.

The important question for a member is simple: what does the KSh1.2 trillion figure actually mean?

The five-year growth story

SASRA’s figures show steady growth:

• 2021: KSh807.11 billion

• 2022: KSh890.30 billion

• 2023: KSh971.96 billion

• 2024: KSh1.076 trillion

• December 2025: KSh1.210 trillion

• March 2026: KSh1.211 trillion

Between 2021 and March 2026, regulated SACCO assets grew by about 50%. In money terms, the sector added roughly KSh404 billion.

The biggest point is not that SACCOs crossed KSh1 trillion on one particular day. It is that the sector had been growing for several years before the milestone and continued growing afterwards.

There is one detail worth noting. Assets rose by 12.28% between March 2025 and March 2026, but they grew by only about 0.15% between December 2025 and March 2026. The sector was much larger than it had been a year earlier, although growth was almost flat during the first three months of 2026.

What counts as a SACCO asset?

The KSh1.211 trillion is not cash sitting in SACCO bank accounts.

An asset is money or property that belongs to the SACCO, or money that other people owe it. For most SACCOs, the largest asset is the loan book.

By March 2026, regulated SACCOs had KSh950.93 billion in gross loans. That was about KSh78 out of every KSh100 in total sector assets.

A loan is an asset to the SACCO because the borrower must repay it with interest. Other assets include cash, bank balances, government securities, buildings, land, equipment and other investments.

For an ordinary member, the trillion-shilling figure mostly tells the story of money saved by members and then lent back to members.

Where does the money come from?

Member deposits reached KSh749.43 billion at the end of 2024. They rose to KSh831.91 billion by December 2025 and KSh870.02 billion by March 2026.

Deposits are money that the SACCO owes its members. They help finance loans and other assets. They are not extra money that should be added on top of the KSh1.211 trillion.

The sector also reported KSh247.53 billion in reserves by March 2026. Reserves are surpluses retained in the SACCO instead of being paid out. They help absorb losses, support growth and strengthen the institution.

This is why members should care about more than the dividend rate. A SACCO that retains enough reserves may be in a better position to handle loan defaults or economic shocks.

How does this compare with Kenya’s capital markets?

Capital markets cover several different investments, including listed shares, bonds and collective investment schemes. They are not one single asset class, so comparisons must be made carefully.

At the end of March 2026, the Nairobi Securities Exchange had a market capitalisation of KSh3.231 trillion. Regulated SACCO assets of KSh1.211 trillion were equal to about 37.5% of that figure.

The two numbers measure different things. NSE market capitalisation is the market value of listed companies. SACCO assets include loans, cash, investments and property. The comparison is useful only for showing scale.

A closer comparison is with collective investment schemes, which include money market, fixed income, balanced and equity funds. CMA reported KSh756.2 billion in collective investment scheme assets at the end of December 2025.

At the same date, regulated SACCO deposits stood at KSh831.91 billion. The SACCO deposit pool was therefore about 10% larger than all collective investment scheme assets under management.

Again, the products work differently. A unit trust invests money in market instruments on behalf of investors. A SACCO uses member deposits mainly to provide loans and may also give members access to guarantor-backed credit and other services.

Bigger does not automatically mean safer

The sector’s size is impressive, but an industry total cannot tell you whether one particular SACCO is well run.

The March 2026 report shows that capital and liquidity were generally above the regulatory minimums. For example, DT-SACCOs had a core-capital-to-assets ratio of 18.61% against a minimum of 10%, while their liquidity ratio was 75.95% against a minimum of 15%.

Loan quality still needs attention. DT-SACCOs reported a non-performing loan ratio of 6.42%, while NWDT-SACCOs reported 8.18%. Both were above SASRA’s benchmark of less than 5%.

A non-performing loan is a loan whose repayment has fallen seriously behind. Too many such loans can reduce income, delay new lending and place pressure on member refunds.

What the milestone means for an ordinary member

The KSh1 trillion milestone shows that SACCOs are no longer small welfare groups operating at the edge of Kenya’s financial system. They hold a large share of household savings and provide almost KSh1 trillion in loans.

That scale can support better technology, more branches, wider access to credit and stronger internal systems. It also means poor management at a large SACCO can affect many families.

A member should therefore look beyond the industry headline and check the figures for their own SACCO:

• Is it licensed or authorised by SASRA?

• Are deposits and loans growing at a sensible pace?

• Is the non-performing loan ratio rising or falling?

• Does the SACCO meet capital and liquidity requirements?

• Are the audited accounts available to members?

The bottom line

Kenya’s regulated SACCO industry moved from KSh807 billion in assets in 2021 to KSh1.211 trillion by March 2026. It crossed KSh1 trillion because millions of members continued saving, borrowing and leaving part of the annual surplus in their institutions.

The milestone matters. It shows scale, trust and economic reach. But it is not a safety certificate for every SACCO. Members still need to read their own SACCO’s accounts, attend the AGM and ask questions about loans, liquidity, reserves and governance.

Editorial note: The March 2026 SASRA figures are based on periodic statutory returns and may change after audits, supervisory adjustments or stress testing. Sector averages should not be treated as financial advice about a particular SACCO.