Co-operative Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Dr. Gideon Muriuki has likened the bank to the bottom-up economic model spearheaded by President William Ruto’s administration.
According to Muriuki, the bank started its IPS preparations in 2007 and had to deal with different challenges from the bottom of the pyramid as a co-operative society.
“The IPO raised Sh5.4 billion. This was a lot of money for a co-operative bank. The money came in handy for us as a bank, supporting the bottom of the pyramid,” he said.
Additionally, he said the bank transformed the Saccos movement into banking entities, with over 550 Front Office Service Activities (FOSAs).
The lender’s asset increased from Sh83 billion at the time of listing to Sh600 billion in the current financial statements.
“We believe we are playing a much bigger role in supporting our Kenyan people and the region. During 2019/2020, the Co-op bank distributed over Sh11 billion to the co-operative movement as dividends at that critical moment, which was a very timely relief for that sector,” he said.
Muriuki said the lender focuses on the transformation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) where they have over 1.9 million Kenyans in the MSME market banking.
The sector has a membership of 13 million and 22,000 Saccos while the Cooperative Bank itself has 1.9 million customers in the SME market segment.
The Sacco sector has 550 front service offices serving SMEs that are unable to raise bankable collateral, fourthly, that Cooperative Bank and the Saccos in its network offer the largest ‘Lipa na M-Pesa’ services.
