Investment Options for Chamas
Chamas as a development oriented unit in Kenya, have existed for the longest time that can be remembered. This is a community of high intent dream-chasers committed to soar greater heights. The most prioritized investment area is buying large lumps of land preferably in the outskirts of big towns and wait for prices to go up before the sale. Other than land sales, they foresee land partitioning, to facilitate building of units for selling or renting.
This is a brilliant approach. However, would we say it is the only available option for wealth accumulation to chamas? Are there options viable to give chamas more returns?
1. Investing in Money Market Funds
Money market funds are the perfect option for investors who want low risk, want to stay liquid and preserve their capital. They tick all the boxes for chamas. More importantly, they offer a higher return than bank deposits.
The areas where money market fund managers invest in are: fixed and demand deposits, alternative investments, government securities, and commercial papers.
2. List your personal car on car sharing platforms -RIDE
This is the next frontier in Car sharing/rental business. List your car on Ride and this being a platform, they will present to you pre-vetted car renters near you. They allow you set your own price , buy instant protection plan to cover your car incase of a physical damage and allow you full control of your car availability.
You can read more from https://www.riderentals.co/ride-launches-neighbor-to-neighbor-car-sharing-in-kenya
See below the reviews on their website:
“As a chama, we were looking for a way to grow our empire when our friend referred us to Ride. We now have 13 cars listed on Ride .I have referred my friends too to list their cars .”
Sheila , Family Lawyer group
You can be the RIDE freelance sales person /Broker and recruit your friends for commission.
3. Shares
In Kenya, one can buy shares from publicly listed companies though the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Beforehand, a thorough research and due diligence has to be done. Shares suits best long-term investors with a high-risk appetite. The prices of shares are usually dictated by various factors, for example, market volatility, which can be an advantage to the investor because one can get quality shares at their desired price.
With the call by the hustlers government to privatize most government owned companies, this is an exciting time to invest.
In conclusion, before investing, chama members must do their due diligence and thorough research on the area they wish to invest in. The chama should also decide on the investment strategy, goal and aim to stick to that and they should avoid changing the objective mid-way.
Lastly, no money is too little to invest. Start with whatever amount of money you have in your hands and let that money work for you.
