Cooperative Alliance Of Kenya (cak) Key Achievements In Advocacy, Lobbying, And Cooperative Capacity Building

By Admin

CAK’s key mandate is to pursue lobbying and advocacy for a favourable and enabling policy and legal environment for cooperative development in Kenya to create harmony in the cooperative movement for socio-economic member empowerment. Below are some of the achievements.

Lobbying, Advocacy & Policy Influence

  1. CAK lobbied for the enactment of the SACCO Societies Act No. 14 of 2008, which led to the creation of the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority.
  2. CAK championed an enabling environment for cooperative laws at the national level to support cooperative development in Kenya.
  3. CAK secured support from the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF) in 2015 to fast-track the drafting of the County Cooperative Societies Bill.
  4. CAK organized a national cooperative validation forum attended by 38 county governments and over 200 cooperative leaders for the proposed County Cooperative Societies Bill.
  5. CAK collaborated with USAID’s EMIRGE Program to accelerate legislative buy-in for cooperative laws at both county and national levels.
  6. CAK actively participated in the drafting and public hearings of the East Africa Community Cooperative Society Bill, 2015, promoting regional trade and cooperation.
  7. CAK successfully opposed the private member Miscellaneous Amendments Bill, 2018, and proposed amendments to the SACCO Societies Act, ensuring cooperative principles were maintained.
  8. CAK participated in the development of the new National Cooperative Policy, which has been approved by Parliament and is awaiting Sessional Paper status.

Provision of Economic Services

  1. CAK supported the revival of agricultural value chains including cotton, fish, apiculture, dairy, coffee, horticulture, cashew, and macadamia nuts.
  2. CAK facilitated value chain interventions such as procurement and distribution of farm inputs, bulk handling of grain and fertilizers, value addition, warehousing, marketing through e-services, exchange programs, and micro-irrigation.
  3. CAK strengthened credit cooperatives, mobilizing Kshs 378 billion in savings across 5,628 SACCOs with over 400 Front Office Service Activities (FOSAs).
  4. CAK enhanced the role of SACCOs as key financial sector players and providers of microfinance services to members.
  5. CAK supported institutional development of emerging cooperatives including investment, women, and youth cooperatives through governance frameworks and training.
  6. CAK provided model by-laws and pre-membership awareness programs to guide new and existing cooperatives.
  7. CAK facilitated the strengthening of Kirinyaga Dairy Co-operative Society and Borabu Dairy Co-operative Union between 2013 and 2017 with support from SFOAP, EAFF, EU, IFAD, French Development Agency, and Swiss Development Cooperation.
  8. CAK implemented the FO4ACP Programme (2019–2023), benefiting 24,000 smallholder and family farmers across six cooperatives in six counties to improve livelihoods and food security.

Information & Awareness

  1. CAK conducted awareness campaigns to educate cooperatives on innovative products, governance, value addition, supply chain management, and strengthening of weak or newly registered cooperatives.
  2. CAK enhanced ICT networks and e-services to improve cooperative business systems in Kenya and across Africa.

Institutional Support / Capacity Building

  1. CAK organized international exchange visits and study tours, including the MASHAV Israel Training with Alliance Africa on “Cooperating out of Poverty.”
  2. CAK facilitated the Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU) and International Labour Organization (ILO) study tour in collaboration with African Cooperative Leaders in 2016.
  3. CAK organized the CAK/DGRV study visit in 2016 to expose cooperative leaders to global best practices.

Coping Mechanisms & COVID-19 Response

  1. CAK took immediate action following the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 to mitigate its impact on the cooperative sector.
  2. CAK collaborated with the Commissioner for Co-operative Development to coordinate sector-wide COVID-19 response measures.
  3. CAK established the Co-operative Coronavirus Response Committee (CCRC) and reached 357 societies in 21 counties, providing support kits to 8,328 households (~35,000 people) and mobilizing Kshs 12,731,435 in relief funds.