In 2019, SEEP convened a Peer Learning Group (PLG) comprised of both government and civil society social protection programs to explore the Role of Savings Groups in Supporting Graduation from Social Safety Nets. Members of the PLG, as listed in the acknowledgements, included representatives from the governments of Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Senegal as well as two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) – Trickle Up (working in the Sahel region, with the governments of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal) and The BOMA Project (working in Northern Kenya and Uganda). Over a period of nine months, PLG members consolidated their collective knowledge and experience, and best practices on how to integrate and expand the coverage of SGs within social safety nets policy and programming.

This paper describes how PLG members have integrated and adapted Savings Groups in pursuit of an effective process for poverty graduation. The experience of programs across Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, Niger, Mauritania and Tanzania are included, as well as perspectives from a non-graduation focused social safety net program from Kenya for reference in the wider context.

Other titles in this series:

Mentoring and Coaching: Supporting Graduation from Social Safety Nets through Savings Groups

Savings Groups in Graduation Programs: A Pathway to Inclusive Markets