Kenyan Saccos possess a significant competitive advantage over banks due to their loyal customer base and access to cheap capital, but poor governance is preventing them from leveraging these strengths.

• Saccos hold the cheapest money in the country, built on member trust.
• The article criticizes elected boards for prioritizing popularity over competence, hindering technological adoption and data utilization.
• This governance failure allows banks and mobile lenders to capture market share that Saccos could otherwise dominate.