Conventional wisdom says: to be a property mogul you need an idea, a team and
Elsie and her SACCO (Savings and Credit Cooperative, or Credit Union) made up of 150 single mothers bound by the spirit of Harambe disagree.
Meet Elsie, a dynamic single mother of the cutest twin daughters. They have found a unique way of participating in Kenya’s rocketing economy.
When a new development started in Athi river; 30 kilometers south of the bustling capital Nairobi, Kenya. Elsie used the spirit of Harambe (the pulling together of a community to help each other) to secure R13 000 capital from each of the single mothers and buy four units off plan.
She admits that in the beginning, it was challenging. Trust is not easy when dealing with money, and they lost some members along the way.
But the spirit of Harambe is strong here in Kenya, it the official motto of the country and it stands proudly on the coat of arms. Using this spirit and a Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) the ladies smiled as their capital double when the housing complex was completed.
Elsie and the SACCO now lease out their units through AirBnB for R500 per night and they are fully booked until April 2019. The R600 000 generated through the units allows the ladies to buy 2-3 additional units per year. At this rate, Elsie is well on the way to being a property mogul.
Conventional wisdom says you need