When Bosire Bonyi, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, graduated from law school in 2018, he knew he did not want to be employed. After being admitted to the bar in 2022, he registered his law firm, officially beginning his legal practice.

"It wasn't easy and because at the time I hadn't built a name, business wasn't coming through as fast. Business teaches you that you can get a lump sum payment now and never be paid the rest of the year, at all," Bosire said.

Unlike salaried employees who can plan around a predictable monthly income, Bosire said he had to adopt strict financial discipline to manage an irregular cash flow.

"In the office, there were conversations about remittances done to SACCOs. LSK SACCO has its membership from advocates and its employees. I joined LSK SACCO through a referral," he said.

Bosire Bonyi is a litigator, trade and investment advisor, and the founding and managing partner of GBB Advocates LLP.

Photo credit: Pool

Unlike Bosire, who discovered SACCOs through his professional network, full time influencer and social media manager, Parmeres Sisinei, said she lacked enough information to consider joining one.

"Most people my age are not in SACCOs, so I don't have much information. But whenever you talk to an older person, they'll tell you, 'Oh, I got a dividend.' They're only telling you about the end result but not how long it took to get there. So, there is a very big information gap about SACCOS. I know they exist, but there's no real incentive for me to join," she said.

The information gap is one of the biggest barriers preventing gig workers, especially the youth, from embracing SACCOs.

NSSF SACCO reports that 5,410 members are actively saving out of a total membership of 7,757. Members below the age of 40 account for 69.74 percent.

The figures point to growing interest among freelancers and gig workers seeking financial inclusion, particularly as many struggle to access services from conventional financial institutions.

Young members have collectively saved Sh865.7 million, representing 33.35 percent of the SACCO's total member savings of Sh2.6 billion.

They have also borrowed Sh1.39 billion, accounting for 35.5 percent of the SACCO's Sh3.92 billion loan book. Most of the young member’s work in retail and hospitality, accounting for 4,008 members, followed by 525 from government and parastatals, while 176 are self-employed.

Another obstacle limiting SACCO uptake among gig workers is the traditional financial model, which many say still favours salaried workers.

"They are more skewed towards benefiting those in the formal sector because they are risk averse. People in the formal sector are able to account for their monies. They are able to go for loans and provide financial statements. They are able to acquire property that they can use as collateral. They are able to access different facilities from different sources. Now, in the informal sector, it is not the case," Bosire said.

"Say, you're a videographer and you want to improve your whole setup. You want to get equipment. But when you go to a financier and you tell them, 'I get jobs. Like, I get paid Sh300,000, but next month I will not pay.' How do you bridge that gap between what you spend and what you get?" Sisinei posed.

The financing gap has created an opportunity for SACCOs, many of which are adjusting their strategies to attract and retain gig workers.

"Personally, I encounter such challenges where we have members who are on check off and, for whatever reasons, they quit employment. Yet they have our loans to service. So I reach out to them and ask them, 'Why are you not servicing your loans?' They tell me they quit employment. So I tell them, 'You don't have to be in employment to service your loan. You continue with business. The SACCO is there for you. You can expand your business and continue servicing your facility,'" said NSSF SACCO chairperson Livingstone Masai.

"And the good thing is that it even has government funding through the Kenya Development Corporation. There's a project called Step Up Project, which pumps money into SACCOs and microfinance institutions to help these people."

For many SACCOs, the guarantor system remains the preferred security model, allowing members to access loans without providing conventional collateral.

Bosire said the arrangement has worked well for him because most of the people he knows in LSK SACCO are fellow lawyers who can stand in as guarantors.

Loan recovery, however, remains one of the biggest challenges for SACCOs targeting gig workers. To address this, many now require members to channel payments through front office service activity accounts, making it easier to process repayments even when income is irregular.

Technology is also playing a growing role. Loan applications and member services are increasingly being digitised to improve efficiency. NSSF SACCO is preparing to go paperless in its next phase of operations to streamline service delivery, attract more gig workers and strengthen governance and accountability.

SACCOs are also broadening their membership beyond their traditional institutions. Nation SACCO, for instance, has opened its membership to the public despite its roots within Nation Media Group.

At the heart of these changes is the recognition that gig workers represent a growing but underserved market with unique financial needs.

NSSF SACCO reports that while salaried members maintain regular monthly savings, self-employed members save periodically depending on their cash flow.

For Bosire, the key lesson has been building the discipline to save before spending.

"Anytime I get paid, the first thing I do is to save, before I even budget. I send money directly to my SACCO. I deposit it directly. So if, for instance, I receive Sh50,000, before I even start analysing my challenges, my day to day issues, the first thing I do is save," he said.

bgeorge@ke.nationmedia.com