Nairobi — Kenya has the biggest sacco movement in Africa, a new report shows, highlighting the role it plays in the country's economy.
The latest report by the World Council of Credit Unions shows that the country's sacco occupies the first position on the continent in terms of members, savings, and shares.
Kenyan cooperative societies have 10.8 million members with $16.4 billion in savings and shares.
Ethiopia trails Kenya with 6.9 million customers and $711.2 million in savings and shares.
Rwanda is third with 4.1 million customers. However, it did not provide figures on the amount saved as well as shares.
India occupies the first position globally with 294.1 million members, followed by the United States of America (USA) at 136.6 million.
The World Council is a global network for national and regional credit union associations in more than 80 countries, accounting for 70 percent of all credit unions, credit union members, and credit union assets worldwide.
In Africa, Kenya also leads in amount saved and shares held at Sacco at $16.4 billion, followed by Ethiopia with $711.2 million.
Globally, savings and shares held at American credit unions are the highest at $1.87 trillion, followed by Canada at $325.4 billion.
