Kenyan fintech company Kwara has agreed to wholly acquire IRNET Coop Kenya, a software firm that is a subsidiary of the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO). Alongside the acquisition, Kwara has entered into an exclusive digital solutions partnership agreement with KUSCCO, which will see Kwara offer its banking software solutions and mobile banking channels to rapidly increase growth and profitability of savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in Kenya.
This partnership will accelerate the growth of SACCOs by increasing deposit mobilization and digital member acquisition, while addressing the key challenges that currently face SACCOs, including costly digitization, security concerns, and the digital divide between SACCOs and their increasingly young, digitally-savvy membership.
“This development marks a game changer in the management of SACCOs going forward,” says George Ototo, Group Managing Director of KUSCCO. “The acquisition of IRNET and the KUSCCO-Kwara partnership will deliver to our thousands of SACCO members a tested and proven, secure and efficient cloud-based core banking platform as well as modern mobile banking channels.”
Kwara Co-Founder and CEO Cynthia Wandia says, “We have spent the last four years working closely with KUSCCO to uplift the SACCO sector in Kenya. Our clients have grown their deposits and loan books twice as fast as they did before switching to Kwara. We are now grateful for the opportunity to avail those benefits to SACCOs across the entire country.”
The entire IRNET team will join forces with Kwara to ensure a seamless transition and to embed the entire KUSCCO regional network and marketing expertise into Kwara for the success of the partnership and growth of the SACCO fraternity.
KUSCCO, Kwara and IRNET will soon launch the partnership at a Nairobi-based event, followed by regional launches across the country. The parties intend to rapidly onboard the entire SACCO fraternity onto the Kwara platform in the next six months and look forward to your partnership and support.
This partnership is a huge step forward for the SACCO sector in Kenya, as it addresses some of the key challenges that SACCOs are facing today, including costly digitization, security concerns and the digital divide between SACCOs and their increasingly young, digitally-savvy membership. By partnering with Kwara, KUSCCO is able to offer its thousands of SACCO members a tested, secure and efficient cloud-based core banking platform, as well as modern mobile banking channels.
The acquisition of IRNET and the KUSCCO-Kwara partnership will not only benefit the entire SACCO sector in Kenya, but also accelerate the digitization of SACCOs, making them more compliant with SASRA digitization and governance requirements. The parties intend to rapidly onboard the entire SACCO fraternity onto the Kwara platform in the next six months and look forward to your partnership and support.
