Prof. Charles Mayaka Challenges Cooperative Leaders To Prepare For A Changing Future
By Admin Monday, 7th September 2026
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Cooperative and SACCO leaders meeting in Naivasha have been challenged to look beyond the traditional way of running their institutions as economic, technological and social changes continue to reshape the sector.
The call came during a session led by Prof. Charles Mayaka, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Directors Kenya (IODK), at the ongoing Future-Ready Co-operatives and SACCOs Leadership Forum at Sawela Lodges, Naivasha.
The session, titled “The Future of Cooperatives and Saccos: Global and Local Trends,” focused on emerging economic, technological and social trends that are likely to influence the future of cooperative institutions.
The forum is being organised by the Co-operative Alliance of Kenya (CAK) in collaboration with the Institute of Directors Kenya and runs from September 6 to 10, 2026.
A sector operating in a changing environment
For many years, cooperatives and SACCOs have operated around familiar models of member savings, lending, investment and collective ownership. However, the environment in which these institutions operate is changing rapidly.
Technology is changing how members access financial services. Economic pressures are affecting households and businesses, while changing consumer expectations are putting pressure on institutions to provide faster, more convenient and more responsive services.
These changes raise an important question for cooperative leaders: Will the institutions of tomorrow be prepared for the environment they will operate in?
The question is particularly important for SACCOs, which are increasingly operating alongside banks, fintech companies and other digital financial service providers.
CAK has previously highlighted digital transformation, cybersecurity, changing regulation, economic volatility and climate-related pressures as some of the forces creating new risks and opportunities for cooperative institutions.
Technology is changing the meaning of competition
One of the major issues facing SACCOs is the speed at which technology is transforming financial services.
Members no longer compare their SACCO only with another SACCO. They increasingly compare the experience they receive from their SACCO with what they experience from banks, mobile money platforms and digital financial services.
This means that convenience, speed, accessibility and the quality of customer service are becoming increasingly important.
For cooperative leaders, therefore, technology should not simply be viewed as an ICT issue. It is increasingly becoming a strategic leadership issue.
Prof. Mayaka has previously emphasised that digital transformation should be treated as a strategic enabler rather than merely a support function, with tools such as automation, data analytics and artificial intelligence capable of improving decision-making and service delivery.
The future requires different leadership
The discussion also places greater attention on the role of leadership in preparing cooperatives for uncertainty.
A cooperative may have strong financial resources today but still face difficulties tomorrow if its leadership fails to anticipate changes in the operating environment.
Future-ready leadership therefore requires boards and management to continually ask:
- What changes are coming?
- How will those changes affect our members?
- What risks are emerging?
- What opportunities can the cooperative take advantage of?
- Are we investing enough in technology and people?
- Is our institution prepared for the next five or ten years?
This approach moves leadership away from simply responding to problems after they occur towards anticipating change and preparing in advance.
From traditional thinking to future-ready cooperatives
The session comes at an important time for Kenya's cooperative movement.
The sector is facing increasing expectations around governance, accountability, compliance, innovation and institutional sustainability. CAK and IOD Kenya have previously stressed the need for cooperative leaders to strengthen governance while responding to technological and other emerging challenges.
For SACCOs and cooperatives, being future-ready will therefore require more than adopting new technology.
It will require leaders who understand change, boards that can provide strategic direction, management teams that can execute effectively and institutions that remain focused on delivering value to members.
A conversation that goes beyond technology
The significance of Prof. Mayaka's session is that the future of cooperatives cannot be reduced to digital transformation alone.
Economic trends, social changes, technology and changing member expectations are interconnected.
A SACCO that adopts a mobile application but fails to understand what its members actually need may still struggle.
Similarly, an institution can have strong financial performance today but become vulnerable if it fails to identify changes taking place around it.
This makes strategic thinking and continuous environmental scanning increasingly important for cooperative boards and senior management.
The bigger question for cooperative leaders
As Kenya's cooperative movement prepares for the future, perhaps the most important question is not whether change will come.
Change is already here.
The bigger question is whether cooperative institutions are prepared to recognise it early enough and respond effectively.
The discussions at the Naivasha forum are therefore providing cooperative leaders with an opportunity to reflect on whether their current strategies, leadership structures, technology investments and business models are adequate for the future.
The Institute of Directors Kenya describes its mandate as advancing corporate governance, ethical leadership and director professionalism, areas that are increasingly important as cooperative institutions navigate a more complex operating environment.
For the cooperative movement, the future may ultimately belong to institutions that are willing to adapt before they are forced to adapt.
And that is why conversations about global and local trends are becoming increasingly important in determining what Kenya's cooperatives and SACCOs will look like in the years ahead.