The SEEP Network defines digital savings groups (DSGs) as “technologies and systems that digitize savings group records, procedures or transactions.” What is most exciting about th…
Savings Groups are one of the most consistent and sustainable platforms for community development worldwide. Currently, there are more than 15 million members in Savings Groups in more than 73…
Cette note de synthèse commence par un aperçu des principes de protection des clients, du programme de certification de protection des clients, et du processus de certification Smart. Elle m…
This learning brief starts with an overview of the client protection principles, the client protection certification program, and the certification process. It then showcases the experiences o…
This case study lays out the plan for a participatory market system analysis in the Sahrawi refugee camps in southwest Algeria. The analysis is informed by the guidance articulated in the Mini…
The case study explores, from a personal perspective, the relationship between Protection and Livelihoods interventions in a refugee context in Chad. The study uses three standards from the Mi…
These 10 tips are a product of the SEEP Network’s peer learning group on Savings Groups for Refugees – composed of representatives from the Danish Refugee Council, the Fletcher Sch…
Worldwide, about 80 percent of Savings Group members are women (SAVIX 2019). Gendered participation rates in Savings Groups mirror those of the microfinance sector, which set a precedent of em…
2019 |Mansi Anand (Oxfam), Anna Mecagni (Women for Women International) & Maryam Piracha (PRISMA)
There is increasing interest from economic programs to better understand, measure and capture agency across interventions in order to more deliberately pursue women’s economic empowermen…
As Savings Groups increasingly serve as a pillar of gender-focused programs, there is a need to better understand the pathways between Savings Groups and women’s empowerment. The purpose…
2019 |marc bavois and Benjamin S. Allen, Ph.D. (Catholic Relief Services)
For millions of financially excluded individuals worldwide, Savings Groups offer the opportunity to save and borrow small amounts of cash in a convenient, accessible and generally safe manner.…
2019 |Benjamin S. Allen, Ph.D., and marc bavois (Catholic Relief Services)
Over the last two decades, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has promoted Savings Groups – referred to as Savings and Internal Lending Communities, or SILCs – reaching about 3.8 milli…
2019 |Sukhwinder Arora and Ian Robinson (Arora Associates)
What role do governments play in protecting Savings Groups as financial service providers and their members as financial consumers? This brief paper assesses emerging government efforts to reg…
2019 |Katherine Rickard and Amalia Johnsson (Nathan Associates)
This learning brief examines the pathways between Savings Groups and women’s empowerment, the evidence with respect to various outcome areas, and how women’s empowerment outcomes c…
In December 2018, Global Communities began the formation of a multi-country team of twelve MERS ambassadors through a SEEP-facilitated MERS training event for selected individuals from across…
This case study shows how the MERS were applied to a 2018 market study conducted by Catholic Relief Services, following displacement in Congo-Brazzaville.
In May of 2016, conflict triggered by…
This case study focuses on Bonyan, a local NGO based in Syria, and how they adapted the MERS to help with market-based program interventions.
In early 2018, the SEEP Network partnered with the…
This learning brief begins by providing an overview of the key players in the Azerbaijan microfinance sector, followed by more detail on the approaches used by AMFA to build its sustainability…
2018 |Fiona Jarden and Aisha Rahamatali (CARE International)
Savings Groups are community-based financial service providers that deliver basic financial services to millions of members in underserved markets worldwide. Traditionally, the promotion of Sa…
2018 |Benjamin S. Allen, Ph.D. (Catholic Relief Services)
This state of practice report provides a comprehensive overview of the inclusion of vulnerable populations in Savings Groups. Over the past 25 years, development organizations have mobilized m…
2018 |Benjamin S. Allen, Ph.D. (Catholic Relief Services)
This state of practice report provides a comprehensive overview of the inclusion of vulnerable populations in Savings Groups. Over the past 25 years, development organizations have mobilized m…
The purpose of this risk assessment is to identify and assess the main risks that affect Savings Groups – based on the frequency and severity of negative outcomes – and ultimately…
2018 |Nisha Singh (The SEEP Network) and Anam Parvez Butt, Claudia Canepa (Oxfam)
Insights from a Practitioner Learning Group
This document is a summary of the process and insights from the participants of a 2017 Practitioner Learning Group (PLG) on “Shifting Social N…
Ce rapport présente les enseignements tirés de la Conférence internationale sur la finance responsable et inclusive (ICRIF), organisée par l’Association des i…
This report provides lessons learned from The International Conference on Responsible and Inclusive Finance (ICRIF), hosted by the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR), ai…
Un mécanisme de résolution des plaintes (MRP), qui peut aussi etre appele mécanisme de recours ou médiation, désigne un système de collecte, de r&eacu…
This document captures the experiences and lessons shared by participants during the SEEP Regional Network Summit, held on March 20th, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, about their own experiences promo…
والمنظمات الحكومية الدولية ، والسكان المحليين والإدارات الحكومية لتعزيز فعالية ونوعية المساعدات الاقتصادية المقدمة ، وبالتالي إحداث فرق كبير في حياة الأشخاص المتأثرين بالكوارث. يقدم MERS إرشاد…
El MERS ofrece herramientas para agencias humanitarias, organizaciones intergubernamentales, poblaciones locales y departamentos gubernamentales para mejorar la efectividad y calidad de la asi…
Le MERS offre des outils aux agences humanitaires, aux organisations intergouvernementales, aux populations locales et aux départements gouvernementaux pour améliorer l'efficacit…
Over the last decade, there has been a proliferation of initiatives to expand access to formal financial services in underserved markets through Savings Groups (SGs). Initiatives to link Savin…
Cette note éducative propose une typologie pour décrire les types de relations entre les Groupes d'Épargne et les prestataires de services financiers, afin de faciliter le…
2018 |Joanna Ledgerwood and Diane Johnson (The SEEP Network)
For Savings Groups to reach significant numbers of poor people in a sustainable manner, it is necessary to develop a vision for the future where Savings Groups are formed and continue to opera…
Ce document éducatif donne un aperçu des besoins éprouvés par les institutions de microfinance (IMF) rwandaises dans la mise en place et l’implantation de pra…
Un système de marché est un arrangement impliquant plusieurs fonctions et plusieurs acteurs. Il comprend la fonction de base par laquelle les biens et les services sont fournis a…
This learning brief is based on the lessons that emerged during a study program attended by a Rwandan delegation to New Delhi, India from August 28-31, 2017. The study program was facilitated…
This learning brief which provides an overview of the needs experienced by MFIs in Rwanda in introducing and embedding client protection practices in their operations. It draws on consumer pro…
Over the past decade, funders, practitioners, and researchers have made significant investments to understand the impact of Savings Groups (SGs). In the mid-2000s, practitioners began document…
2017 |The SEEP Network & the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda (AMIR)
As part of the Responsible Finance through Local Leadership and Learning in Rwanda program, SEEP and AMIR are committed to working with all the stakeholders that can contribute to the scaling…
The SEEP Network's global Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Program, funded by the Citi Foundation, seeks to promote more resilient financial services markets in which financial service providers…
This learning brief proposes a typology to describe the types of relationships between Savings Groups and financial service providers, to ease discussion, facilitate research, improve comparis…
A comprehensive review of relevant and accessible literature on the facilitation of commercial relationships between Savings Groups and financial service providers, including research, project…
A grievance redress mechanism (GRM), also called complaint resolution mechanism, recourse or redress mechanism, or mediation, refers to a system for collecting, resolving, and responding to cl…
A grievance redress mechanism (GRM), also called complaint resolution mechanism, recourse or redress mechanism, or mediation, refers to a system for collecting, resolving, and responding to cl…
There are over 14 million members of Savings Groups across 75 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, representing a promising platform for financial inclusion in underserved markets. Sa…
The MERS offer tools for humanitarian agencies, inter-governmental organizations, local populations and government departments to enhance the effectiveness and quality of the economic assistan…
