Savings groups tap into the vast, underutilized potential of smart people to solve their own problems.
-
Members save what they can weekly in a communal pot and loan their growing funds to members. Annually, timed for when money is scarcest, the pot is divided according to how much each member saved plus each mem- ber’s share of the interest. Every cent saved over the cycle plus interest is returned to the members.
-
1. Start small to learn, but plan for scale
2. Simple is better than complex.
3. Build on what is already in place and already widely understood.
4. Design for change that persists long after outside agents leave and that spreads from village to village without outside staff.
5. Keep costs low
6. Give nothing away
7. Insist on local control
8. Establish high performance standards and insist on meeting them.
9. Build learning and innovation into program design
-
[Jeff Ashe ]built from what [he] learned in Nepal, and later in India and Zimbabwe, to launch and lead the Oxfam America/Freedom from Hun- ger Saving for Change initiative that has, since 2005, trained and supported savings groups with 650,000 women members in thousands of villages across Mali, Senegal, Cambodia, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Learn more about photos below in Jeffrey Ashe’s book about microfinance saving groups.
Grassroot Microfinance in Mali
Eight years later, nearly 450,000 women had joined Saving for Change groups in Mali, in addition to the 143,000 villagers in Mali who had joined similar projects sponsored by CARE, the 40,000 who were part of Plan International projects, and the 30,000 who had joined groups trained by CRS. By early 2014, a total of 695,589 savings group members were trained in Mali among the four organizations.
—Excerpt from In Their Own Hands: How Savings Groups Are Revolutionizing Development by Jeffrey Ashe
Recognize local value
We understand that group savings traditions and solutions honed over generations have ensured the survival of families and communities
Support communities
It is thus our goal to learn about these local solutions, help shape them, and then facilitate their spread
Share results
We rely on our extensive network to share the outcomes of savings groups to encourage others to promote local, rather than top-down, solutions
Interested in learning more about local solutions?
Do you have an innovative idea for GFA?
GFA is as strong as its network and members. We welcome any bright and new ideas you may have on how we can improve our existing work and reach a greater audience.