Overview:
Loans are only one element of the broader spectrum of services that microfinance is meant to provide. Saving can be as important as borrowing in the facilitation of long term individual and economic growth. With access to saving services, impoverished individuals use money saved to ‘smooth’ out the gaps of unpredictable incomes and provide support during unforeseen emergencies. Saving a bit more allows poor households to feel more secure in the present and thus more capable of thinking in terms of their future and the future of their children. Indeed, the poor have an exceptionally high incentive to save, however, their desire to have a safe and secure place to save their money has rarely been met. This gap between the poor’s demand for saving services and both the formal and informal sectors’ inability to supply adequate programs is left for microfinance initiatives to fill.
Details:
Our savings curriculum was designed to:
- Introduce a general knowledge of savings (What are Savings? and Why Save?)
- Provide the information necessary when Deciding to Save and choosing a Savings Option (based on a broad overview of the general types of saving and an explanation of all the advantages and disadvantages to each type of savings method)
- Detail the many different forms of semiformal saving methods (specifically the different forms of a RoSCA) in a manner that is easily understood by our clients.
Resources:
