By Evans | Jul 26, 2024
Let's face it, you cannot work forever. Every day that passes we age, and we lose our ability to work better as compared to when we are young. It might be tricky to wake up at 5 am to open your business premises when you are 80. To be honest, it is hard to wake up at 6 to take a client to the airport using your Uber at 80. As a farmer, you cannot be ferrying milk to your local town every morning when you age. Get where I am going?
You need to start planning your retirement early. But not only retirement, you also need to have strong partners to help elevate your business, or career in the informal sector further. Take for example a coffee farmer. You need individuals who can provide quality seeds, advice on production, and also help in marketing your produce. You donât want to be stuck with 1000 tonnes of coffee with nowhere to sell.
You need a good society to help you grow in terms of your craft, finances, and personal growth. The goal of a cooperative is to serve the community in which they operate. The profit gained from cooperatives is channeled toward fulfilling the social, economic, and cultural needs of the members. Being in a cooperative provides you an opportunity to grow and create wealth as a team. Cooperatives are exclusively controlled by the members who use the business regularly and thus tend to better their community. Since members own and operate the cooperatives, they always have the incentive to benefit each other. Here are 3 cooperative societies you should Join.
If you are a farmer, you should ensure that you join a farmer's cooperative society. Cooperative societies can help members benefit from economics of scale by acquiring inputs and getting services such as transport and storage. As a farmer, you should join a cooperative cooperative society to gain these benefits. E.g If you are a dairy farmer, you can benefit from joining a cooperative because you will have to only deliver the milk to the cooperative collection point and the society will do the rest. You donât have to worry about your milk going bad, how to sell etc.
If you own a matatu, there is a huge benefit to being a member of a matatu Sacco. E.g., in case your vehicle gets a mechanical issue while at work, the cooperative society will provide the society mechanic to repair the vehicle and ensure it is in the work and pay. You will be deducted the expense at the end of the month.
A Savings and Credit Society (SACCO) is a must-have if you are working in the informal sector especially if you are an entrepreneur. A SACCO such as Koilege Sacco is a good investment vehicle for entrepreneurs for 3 main reasons: you can consistently save your surplus so that it can earn you dividends unlike banks, you can get affordable loans for business purposes such as inventory purchases, and provides you with an opportunity to interact with like-minded individuals. Consistently saving in a non-deposit taking SACCO will help you create wealth because you cannot withdraw the funds but can only borrow a loan against it. Every year, you increase your deposit base meaning you will be earning more dividends, can get bigger loans, and thus create more wealth. It also acts as a retirement scheme; you can consistently save during your working years. Once you retire, you can live off the interest earned from the dividends or withdraw from the SACCO and get all your deposits.
The land is becoming smaller and smaller every year. The majority of Kenyans are now living in a rental apartment. Joining a housing cooperative society is a noble idea as it will help you not only find security of tenure but also be able to acquire land and build a retirement home. Cooperatives operate on a nonprofit basis implying that housing will always remain affordable for members for future generations. In Kenya, many housing cooperatives tend to pool their resources and purchase land. They later subdivide and sell the land to members after developing i.e. ensuring that amenities such as water, electricity, and roads have been put in place. Take advantage of these opportunities by joining a housing cooperative to be able to afford a home.
As an individual working in the informal sector, you must join the following cooperatives: Craft-related cooperatives to help you hone your skills, improve production, and also economically distribute your products. You need to join a Savings and Credit Society(SACCO) to consistently save to earn interest, build an emergency fund, and access affordable loans. Last but not least, you need to join a housing cooperative to take advantage of group economics, find an affordable house for rent, and start building your retirement home.