This national stakeholder meeting is hosted by the Savings Groups Evidence and Learning Initiative – an initiative of the SEEP Network and FSD Africa – in collaboration with FSDMoç.
Over the last 25 years, development organizations have trained a total of approximately 700,000 Savings Groups consisting of at least 14 million members in 75 countries. A growing and increasingly robust body of evidence suggests that participation in Savings Groups contributes to increased savings, access to credit, asset accumulation, business investment, consumption, food security, social capital and resilience. Despite these achievements, the sector faces several constraints.
The cost of forming and training Savings Groups in Mozambique has declined significantly over the last decade, to about $40 per member. Nevertheless, over 8 million adults in Mozambique do not have access to any form of financial services – formal or informal – and reaching scale based on current models is prohibitively costly.
Savings Groups are increasingly used as a platform for the delivery of other development activities, including health, education and formal financial services. While promising, the combination of Savings Groups with other development activities introduces risks and good practices are not yet fully understood.
Most Savings Groups continue to operate for several years beyond the period of training and supervision. However, a non-negligible number of groups disband for various reasons, including inadequate support services. And the absence of formal rules, standards or regulation in the sector raises concerns with respect to consumer protection.
Objective
The purpose of this meeting is to propose a new vision for the promotion of Savings Groups in Mozambique, based on a market systems approach – identifying current challenges, promising innovations and stakeholder priorities.
Registration
Participants are kindly requested to confirm their participation at fsdmoc@fsdmoc.com, by June 14.
Agenda
08:00 - 08:30 Registration and networking
08:30 - 08:45 Opening remarks
Esselina Macome, Policy Advisor, FSDMozambique
08:45 - 09:15 State of the sector:
Launch of the FSD Mozambique national Savings Group map
Eileen Miamidian, COO, AYANI
09:15 - 09:45 Applying a market systems approach to Savings Groups
David Panetta, Program Director, The SEEP Network
09:45 - 10:45 Group formation and training
Gabrielle Athmer, independent consultant
Tiago Borges, SOMA, (UX and Aga Khan Foundation Partnership)
Leia Bila, Head of Department of Rural Finance, National Directorate for Promotion of Rural Development
10:45 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 12:00 Group operations and access to ongoing support services
Gabrielle Athmer, Independent Consultant
Andrew Mnjama Mwikamba, Financial Services Consultant, Sterling Micro - Kenya
12:00 - 13:00 Norms and standards: SG Programme Quality Guidelines
SG Programme Quality Guidelines
Gabrielle Athmer, Independent Consultant
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 15:30 Savings Groups as a platform for financial and non-financial services
Linda Porto, Mobile Banking Project Officer, Ophavela
Chipiliro Katundu, CEO, Letsego Bank
Alcidio Faria, Program Manager, Ophavela
William Díaz, Sustainable Economic Development, GIZ
15:30 - 15:45 Break
15:45 - 17:00 What is the future of Savings Groups in Mozambique?
Henriqueta Hunguana, Managing Partner, ICC
MODERATORS
Helder Buvana, Market Development Manager, FSDMoçambique
Anabela Mabota, Knowledge and M&E Manager, FSDMoçambique
Intake: February 17 - May 25, 2021 Cost: $750 per participant Time commitment: 3-4 hours per week Other requirement: Reliable internet connection
The deadline to register…