Automation of SACCOs - FSD Kenya

2 • AUTOMATION OF SACCOS: ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
The objective of this study differs from the assessments that are currently
available:
by focusing on the impact that forthcoming regulations have on selection
of a viable solution;
by providing advice on how to automate a SACCO that is applicable
across the industry;
by providing an current list of viable solution vendors;
by analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the solutions in detail as
well as examining some of the solutions in a live setting; and
by assessing potential challenges to implementation.
1.4 orGAnISATIon oF rEPorT
The present report is organised as follows. Chapter 2 gives an overview of
the methodology applied during this project. It provides information on the
approach chosen by the project team with regard to requirements gathering
and solution assessment. While section 2.1 explains how the project team
went about requirements gathering, the selection of the sample SACCOs, and
the procedure followed during the site visits, section 2.2 provides details on
the project team’s approach to soliciting information about available solutions,
short-listing selected vendors, and finally attending demonstrations of their
products.
Chapter 3 explains the project team’s understanding of the anticipated
regulations. It analyses the regulations’ impact on SACCOs and details how
they need to change their operations in order to comply with upcoming
regulations and the role that information technology plays in that process, i.e.
which requirements on a system arise due to the regulatory framework.
Chapter 4 presents the field visits’ findings, divided into three sections.
Section 4.1 describes experiences the project team gained with regards to
specific conditions of the SACCOs that are very important to understand as
they have a direct bearing on the probability of a successful system acquisition,
implementation, and operation. Section 4.2 describes the actual outcome
of the requirements gathering phase: approximately 190 functional and
technical requirements stretching across the SACCO operating model. Finally,
section 4.3 lists several opportunities for business process improvement that
the project team identified in addition to the observations and specific system
requirements.
Chapter 5 presents the outcome of assessing available automation solutions.
Sections 5.1 and 5.2 present how the project team short-listed the six vendors
to be invited for the final round of screening while section 5.3 describes the
findings made during the software demonstrations held by the vendors. In
detail, the latter section lists minimum requirements on viable solutions,
observed common weaknesses of the screened systems, and noticed strengths
as well as weaknesses of the individual solutions.
Chapter 6 presents the project team’s recommendations, based on the findings
and their analysis. Section 6.1 describes a number of issues every SACCO
needs to consider when implementing a new system in order to be able to
fully benefit from the implementation. Section 6.2 lists the potential strategic
options a SACCO has and analyses their particular strengths and weaknesses
in the given context. It also evaluates the six screened solutions with regard
to fulfilment of requirements, cost, and application maintenance and makes a
corresponding recommendation. Finally, section 6.3 provides SACCOs with an
overview of the necessary steps towards automation. Section 7 concludes.