Most chamas begin with a conversation about money: how much each member will contribute, what loans will cost, who counts the cash. But when groups start looking at apps to keep their records, a different question arrives: what will this cost us, and can we afford it month after month? Chamabora's answer is designed to be as simple as the group itself. There are no tiers, no hidden extras and no feature that costs more. Every group, whether ten members or a hundred, uses the same system and pays only for the number of people on the register.
The price is ten shillings per member per month, counted from your group's membership roll. A chama of ten members pays one hundred shillings a month. Twenty members pay two hundred shillings. A larger society of a hundred members pays one thousand shillings. The first two months are free for every new group, and right now every chama also runs completely free until 30 April 2027, with no card required to start. That extended window gives groups time to move their records across, learn the system and see whether it suits the way they work before any payment is due.
What those ten shillings per member actually buy is a full set of tools: contributions tracked from each member's join date, loans with application and approval steps, expenses that need two officials to approve, a meeting calendar with minutes and resolutions, and reports generated as PDF or CSV whenever you need them. The system enforces the rule that no one confirms their own money—every entry needs a recorder and a separate confirmer—so your group's controls stay strong even as the treasurer changes or new officials arrive. Members see their own balance and loan position at any time, and officials get an audit trail of every financial change that cannot be edited after the fact.
Payment itself is by M-Pesa code, submitted by the chairperson or treasurer and checked against the receiving account, so there is no card to enter or direct debit to set up. If a subscription does lapse for any reason, your records stay readable and exportable; only new entries pause until payment resumes.
Chamabora keeps your group's records only. It never holds or moves your money—contributions stay in the bank account, SACCO or treasurer's M-Pesa wallet where you already keep them. Members report their own payment and an official confirms it, with the same M-Pesa code never accepted twice. The app works out what each member owes from their join date, applies loan repayments to penalty then interest then principal, and will not let a loan be disbursed beyond the cash the group actually holds. What you are paying for is not a bank or a payment service, but a system that keeps everyone honest and makes your meetings faster.
For many groups, the real question is not whether ten shillings per member is affordable, but whether the old way—reconciling notebooks, rewriting minutes, explaining arrears by torchlight on a Tuesday evening—is worth continuing when a clearer system costs less than a soda per person each month. Between now and April 2027, you have time to find out at no cost. After that, the price is ten shillings per member per month, and every feature is available to every group.
Create your group on Chamabora at chamabora.co.ke: it is free until 30 April 2027, with no card needed. See what it does, the pricing, and the free guides, templates and calculators for chamas.
Promoted content. Chamabora is a product of Mycrea Technologies Ltd, which also designs and maintains Kijiji News.