DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA’S Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS) had 981 licensed institutions serving about 1.9 million members and beneficiaries by the end of 2025, with total assets reaching 1.69tri/-.
The sector’s assets increased by nearly 16 per cent in one year, highlighting the growing contribution of financial cooperatives to financial inclusion and economic development.
Speaking during the opening of the SACCA Congress in Dar es Salaam today, October 15, 2026, the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Daniel Chongolo said SACCOS continued to play an important role in mobilising savings and providing financial services to citizens.
He said members themselves contributed more than 92 per cent of SACCOS funding, demonstrating the importance of member participation in sustaining cooperative financial institutions.
The minister said the government recognised the potential of SACCOS to finance productive sectors, including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, manufacturing and trade.
He noted that access to affordable and appropriate financial services was essential for farmers to invest in agricultural inputs, modern technologies, mechanisation, agro-processing and access to markets.
He therefore encouraged SACCOS across Africa to develop innovative financial products tailored to the needs of productive sectors while maintaining sound lending practices and effective risk management.
“Our ambition is to ensure that savings mobilised through SACCOS are increasingly channelled into productive investments that create jobs, increase incomes and contribute to sustainable economic growth,” he said.
He added that, through the Tanzania Cooperative Development Corporation (TCDC), the government continued to strengthen the regulation and supervision of SACCOS, promote good governance, safeguard members’ savings and support digital transformation.
The government was also committed to expanding the participation of women and young people in financial cooperatives, both as members and leaders, to ensure they benefit from the economic opportunities created by the sector.
Addressing delegates from across Africa and beyond, the minister said the congress provided an important platform for regulators, government officials, credit union leaders, development partners and international cooperative organisations to exchange experiences and discuss challenges facing financial cooperatives.
He expressed confidence that the deliberations would produce practical resolutions to strengthen trust and transform cooperative finance across the continent.
The congress is being held under the theme “Building Trust, Driving Transformation: The Future of Financial Cooperatives in Africa.”
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He said the theme was timely, noting that trust remained the foundation of cooperative institutions, while transformation was necessary to respond to the changing needs of members and the wider economy.
Tanzania has a long history of cooperative development, dating back to the period before independence, when coffee farmers on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro joined forces to market their produce.
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