Kwara, a Kenyan fintech company with a global footprint has agreed to wholly acquire IRNET Coop Kenya Ltd, a software company that is a subsidiary of the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO LTD).
With this acquisition, Kwara has also entered into an exclusive digital solutions partnership agreement with KUSCCO LTD whereby Kwara will offer its world-class banking software solutions and mobile banking channels to rapidly increase the growth and profitability of SACCOs in Kenya.
This partnership will catapult the growth of SACCOs through deposit mobilization and digital member acquisition while addressing the key challenges currently facing SACCOs which include costly digitization, security concerns, and the digital divide between SACCOs and their increasingly young digital savvy membership.
“This development marks a game changer in the management of SACCOs going forward,” says George Ototo, Group Managing Director of KUSCCO LTD. “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 say “We have spent the last four years working closely with KUSCCO LTD 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. This partnership through acquisition enables us to place fully digital and secure technology in the hands of all SACCO members in the fastest possible time, backed by the most established SACCO partner in Kenya.”
Patricia Mathiu, CEO of IRNET says “IRNET is delighted to bring its Cybersecurity and Project Assurance experience as well as trusted SACCO relationships into Kwara. This aligns with the goal to accelerate the digitization of SACCOs at this opportune time when SACCOs are poised to play a pivotal role in expanding the Kenyan economy through micro, small and medium enterprises. This evolution will also make our SACCOs more compliant with SASRA digitization and governance requirements.”
