News

Government of Rwanda urges commercial banks to work with Savings Groups

Partnerships with Savings Groups will help create strategic linkages between financial institutions and unbanked populations, explains National Bank of Rwanda Deputy Governor, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST: The Long-Term Performance and Evolution of Savings Groups

Research grant of up to USD 100,000 to conduct a study on the long-term performance and evolution of Savings Groups.

Submission deadline: May 25, 2018

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation SHG Portfolio Evaluation

The purpose of this request for proposals is to identify an organization, individual, or team of individuals to conduct a portfolio evaluation of the Foundation’s work with Self Help Groups (SHGs). The overall purpose of the portfolio evaluation is to generate insights and provide recommendations to BMGF leadership to support the implementation of the components of the Gender Equality Strategy that relates to the use of SHGs as a modality to achieve development outcomes. Given the foundation’s commitment to SHGs, this evaluation is intended to help synthesize and distill learning from all our investments to date in order to drive greater impact of our future investments.

EcoCash Savings Club awarded 2018 Global Money Award

EcoCash Savings Club, which supports Savings Groups in Zimbabwe, has received the 2018 GLOMO award for “Best Mobile Innovation for Women in Emerging Markets.”

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: Savings Groups and Women's Empowerment

Evidence and learning grant of up to USD 90,000 to generate, consolidate or transfer knowledge on the relationship between SGs and women’s empowerment.

Submission deadline: March 2, 2018

Savings Groups technology service providers nominated for Global Mobile Awards 2018

Airtel Tanzania, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and Mahindra Comviva nominated for innovations in mobile payments and women’s financial inclusion.

As wild weather hits crops, Ethiopian women turn to Savings Groups

Increasingly erratic rain and recurring dry spells have slashed harvests and killed livestock in swathes of Ethiopia, raising fears of increased food insecurity. An initiative led by Farm Africa and Mercy Corps is experimenting with Savings Groups as a mechanism to improve resilience in response to extreme weather conditions.

Founder of mobile banking suite for Savings Groups receives Tigo Digital Changemakers award

MVend is a mobile banking suite that enables Savings Group members to save, borrow, pay bills, and transfer funds electronically on their mobile phones, and build their financial record.

Savings Groups help refugee communities start over in Uganda

Since violence erupted in South Sudan in 2014, more than a million people have fled to safety in Uganda. CARE is training women leaders in refugee communities to form Savings Groups, start businesses, and be healthcare workers.

Forty-three percent of Ugandans save and invest with Savings Groups, says Bank of Uganda Governor

While launching the National Financial Inclusion Strategy Structure in Kampala last week, the Bank of Uganda said that 80% of adult Ugandans do not have a bank account. “Fifty-two percent use non-bank formal institutions like mobile money, 43% save and invest with informal savings groups and 51% save at home,” said BoU Governor Emmanuel Mutebile.

SG2018 Registration Now Open!

Take advantage of the Special 2017 Rate today.

SEEP is excited to announce registration and invites you to join us for the Global Savings Groups Conference 2018. SG2018 will offer a platform for attendees to connect, engage and learn from each other about the challenges and opportunities they face in supporting Savings Groups – including VSLAs, SHGs, indigenous savings groups, and other forms of community-based microfinance – worldwide.

Senegalese fintech startup MaTontine launches with World Bank support

Senegalese fintech startup MaTontine aims to automate the traditional Savings Groups found throughout Africa and build a software platform that enables it to work with a range of partners to provide access to financial services for the financially excluded.

Savings Groups breaking the age barrier in Sierra Leone

Through HelpAge, an intergenerational programme that restores livelihoods and builds community cohesion in post-Ebola Sierra Leone, youth volunteers train Savings Groups for the elderly.

Savings Groups increase purchasing power in low-income communities in South Africa

Lakheni, a Cape Town-based company, aggregates low-income households into buying groups. Each group is managed by a member of the community, who is incentivized to grow the group’s membership through a commission on sales. Lakheni’s team packages orders for each customer and delivers them to the groups.

Episcopal Church of Cuba introduces Savings Group program

Savings Groups have been promoted by the Episcopal Church in Cuba since 2013, within its Integral Development Programme, challenging individuals and communities to consider their context, their needs and how they can bring about change.

Unlocking the vast potential of informal housing through Savings Groups in Namibia

The Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia is a network that provides housing finance to its members living in Windhoek’s Havana and Okuryangava settlements, and to residents of Berseba and Ojtinene. The federation is supported by the Namibia Housing Action Group, and Savings Groups in the region have invested about N$8 million in the federation thus far.

Savings Groups innovator identified as finalist for 2017 Anzisha Prize - celebrating innovative, young African entrepreneurs

Moonga Chowa is the founder of Chilimba, a mobile platform that allows Savings Groups in Zambia to manage their contributions in an efficient and transparent manner, and migrate to digital money.

Savings Groups are the most available and preferred source of credit in refugee communities in northern Uganda

An inter-agency livelihood assessment targeting refugees and host communities in IMVEPI and Rhino camp settlements identifies Savings Groups as the most available and preferred lenders of money at 32%, followed by friends and relatives. Commercial banks and MFIs were least accessible to communities with only 1% of the respondents benefiting from their loans.