Project Overview

WOCCU is utilizing a Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions' Rally the Movement grant to roll out its successful SME Lending Toolkit with at least three savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs).

While WOCCU has undertaken many capacity building efforts in Africa, credit unions in Kenya have shown particular potential to help fill a financing gap for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In a country with a large youth population but limited economic opportunities, SMEs represent approximately 90% of businesses and more than half of all jobs. They contribute up to 40% of GDP. However, access to finance is a key constraint. SACCOs had experimented with SME financing in the past, but the high portfolio risk drove them to reduce or stop that lending altogether.

Under two previous programs funded by USAID, the Technology and Innovation for Financial Inclusion (TIFI) Project (2018-24) and the Accelerating Growth and Inclusion in Lending for Credit Unions AGIL4CU) Project (2024-25), WOCCU took a holistic approach by supporting SACCOs to leverage the strengths of the cooperative model while adjusting their strategies, staff capacities and operations to the needs of SMEs. 

This approach allowed the SACCOs to increase their SME portfolios by more than four times the initial investment made by WOCCU, with women accounting for 46% of those borrowers. Delinquency rates also went down, with non-performing loans (NPLs) dropping from over 20% to under 1.5%. 

Through this grant, WOCCU will further document learnings and help the sector grow through best practice approaches liked those defined in WOCCU’s SME Lending Toolkit Learning Brief.

• 357 total credit unions
• 6.8 million members
• USD 6.2 billion in assets

Funded by