Savings-Led Working Group

A Savings Group is like a tiny local credit union: members save together, lend their savings with interest, and share the profits. Today almost nine million people worldwide participate in some form of Savings Group.The popularity of these groups stems from a great need among the poor for help with managing household cash flow, particularly in remote villages or urban slums where no brick-and-mortar financial institutions exist.

Due to the tenacity and rapid growth of Savings Groups, donors and practitioners increasingly require a practical understanding of Savings Groups’ operations and their potential for serving the ”unbanked” poor. The Savings-Led Financial Services Working Group (SLWG) was created to this end, bringing together practitioners who work with Savings Groups to both share their knowledge and experience and disseminate learning more broadly. The working group creates publications, holds on-line discussions, and participates in and organizes conferences to further knowledge of savings group methodologies.

 What are we working on?

THE SAVINGS GROUPS EVIDENCE AND LEARNING INITIATIVE:

Our learning agenda for 2017 will be shaped by our partnership with FSD Africa to facilitate the creation, sharing and use of evidence for organizations supporting Savings Groups. FSD Africa, a program led by UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), will invest USD 2.5 million over 4 years in an ambitious campaign to generate, curate and share a growing body of information on good (and bad) practices relating to Savings Groups and other informal savings-led groups. The engagement of an increasingly diverse spectrum of organizations (e.g. facilitating agencies, formal financial service providers, government, funders, and MNOs) will provide opportunities for cross-organizational and cross-sectoral dialogue that is essential for large-scale systems change. The intended outcome of the Initiative is to expand financial inclusion in Sub Saharan Africa and beyond. For more information please click here.

THE PROGRAM QUALITY GUIDELINES:

Launched in 2015 to guide the implementation of quality programming across the SG sector, the Program Quality Guidelines continue to provide direction to practitioners on good practices around consumer protection to safeguard the well-being of SG members and the security of their assets.  Throughout the year, we will continue to disseminate the guidelines and improve on them based on practitioner feedback and experience. Learn more and explore the interactive PQGs portal today!

THE LINKAGES HANDBOOK:

In partnership with CARE and the Master Card Foundation, the SLWG has undertaken a consultative process to update the Savings Groups Linkages Handbook, which was originally developed by CARE. Drawing on the experiences of other SG promoters and financial services providers, the SLWG will update and produce a  virtual handbook  that will  provide tools and guidance on how to link SGs with formal financial institutions.

THE POWER OF SAVINGS GROUPS:

This webinar series continues to explore innovations and enhancements to Savings Group (SG) operations, and strategies for increased efficiency and scale. The series will feature a monthly webinar showcasing practical experiences.

Joining Forces with the RED GALAC

 The SLWG has joined forces with the RED GALAC (Grupos de Ahorro Latinoamerica y el Caribe) to promote SGs in Latin America.  The RED GALAC came together following the first Latin America Forum on Savings Groups in December 2013 in Bogota, Colombia with the objective to strengthen, position, and advocate for SGs in the region.  The Red GALAC is comprised of over 30 organizations and coordinates closely with SEEP’s SLWG. To learn more about their mission and activities, check out the RED GALAC page.

The facilitators for the Savings-Led Working Group are Eloisa Devietti and Ashley Wheaton.

For questions or further information, please contact David Panetta.