Enhancing Savings Group Resilience with Specialised Financial Products

Savings groups have long been spaces where people come together to leverage their social capital—their relationships with each other-- to build financial capital. They are also spaces of active participation where women and other marginalized groups have the opportunity to exercise leadership and decision-making. Linkages with community-based organizations, government extension services and other NGOs can enrich savings groups with training that helps build human capital and strengthens participation, decision-making and self-efficacy among savings group members. The financial, human and social capital built by savings groups are fundamental building blocks of resilience.

VisionFund International has been implementing FAST (Finance Accelerating Savings group Transformation) since 2019, lending to savings groups through its financial institutions. Currently, the FAST product is serving over 10,500 groups in nine countries in Africa. These are loans made to the group cashbox—not to individuals. The funds are then on-lent by the group to their members in the same way as they lend their own savings, generating interest income for the group.

This report summarises the findings of a series of surveys conducted by impact research firm 60 Decibels.