Abstract:
Deposits taking SACCOs were developed to meet the basic human needs of deposits and
borrowing methods without taking risks. Today, deposit taking SACCOs have important
objective of empowering their depositors‟ socio-economic status all over the world. The
purpose of the study was to determine the influence of SACCO products on socio-economic
wellbeing of member‟s households in Nandi County Kenya. The study was guided by the
following objectives: to analyse differences in uptake of SACCO products by male and
female members in Nandi County; to determine impact of SACCO credit products on the
economic wellbeing of male and female members‟ households in Nandi County; and, to
determine the determine impact of SACCO members savings/ deposits on the economic well
being. The study was anchored on Growth of Wealth Theory and neoclassical theory. The
study adopted a descriptive research design. This study targeted all the four licensed Deposit Taking SACCOs in the Nandi County as at the period ending 31st December, 2017. The target
population comprised of 3250 respondents. Primary data was obtained using self administered questionnaires and interview guide. All the questionnaires and interview guides
received were referenced and items were pre-coded to facilitate data entry. Descriptive
statistics were used to analyse the collected data. Results indicated that SACCO provided
emergency loans to its members, most members had sought emergency loan from the
SACCO Several times(81.2%), credit facilities offered by Sacco had improved social
economic livelihoods of lives of Nandi residents(84.1%), majority of members interviewed
had bought plots in nearby towns(86.2%), others had built a rental house or running business
enterprises. Findings indicated that members had sought FOSA advance loans from the
SACCO several times ; SACCO provided jitegemee, jijenge, jinue products or scholar plus
loans to its members. The study concludes that credit facilities extended by SACCO to its
members had positive influence on social economic welfare of families in Nandi County. It is
therefore recommended that SACCOs in Nandi County should develop investment
sensitization programs. Results show low level of awareness of some of the credit products
offered by Sacco, therefore this study recommends that Sacco in Nandi County should
heavily advertise its products in all parts of the County and also encourage potential farmers
and entrepreneurs to join the SACCO.
