Botswana is seeking to strengthen its cooperative sector by borrowing from best practices which have made Kenya’s cooperative movement the largest in Africa and among the strongest in the World.
Botswana Vice President Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe who is leading a high-level delegation from the southern Africa state made a benchmarking visit to Kenya National Police DT Sacco in a bid to acquire practical lessons on building stronger, more sustainable and digitally enabled industry.
“The discipline of your board members is remarkable. From today’s interactions, we have learned a great deal. We are not only taking learning with us; we now know what we are going to act on,” said Gaolathe during the visit.
The delegation visited Kenya National Police DT Sacco to understand how it has strengthened governance, expanded digital financial services, built financial sustainability and evolved its operations around changing member needs.
Kenya National Police DT Sacco Chairman David Mategwa said the visit demonstrated the importance of African institutions learning from successful approaches within the continent
“This visit is a testament to the value of sharing African solutions with one another. We believe the experience gained here can open the door to deeper cooperation between our institutions and contribute to the growth of the cooperative movement across the continent,” he added.
The benchmarking discussions covered governance, member education, savings mobilisation, digital financial services, institutional sustainability and strategic partnerships.
The delegation also explored the broader role of cooperatives in supporting communities through initiatives in areas such as education, healthcare, climate action and community development.
Kenya National Police DT Sacco Chief Executive Officer Solomon Atsiaya said the institution’s progress has been driven by its ability to continuously adapt to member needs.
“Our transformation has been driven by a simple principle: a SACCO must continuously evolve around the needs of its members. We are pleased to share both the progress we have made and the lessons from our journey, including the challenges we have had to overcome. We also look forward to learning from Botswana, because sustainable transformation is a two-way conversation,” he said.
Atsiaya highlighted digitalisation as a key part of the SACCO’s evolution, describing its digital platform as its “biggest branch”, while emphasizing the continued importance of strengthening members’ savings culture.
Vice President Gaolathe invited the Sacco’s leadership to Botswana for a reciprocal learning visit, creating an opportunity for both institutions to exchange experiences and explore areas of cooperation.
