Books, Websites and Articles
Learn more about Savings Groups.
Books and Publications
Savings Groups at the Frontier Edited by Candace Nelson
The book explores the issues that will shape the future of Savings Groups. What are the costs, required inputs, and anticipated outreach of these groups? How does replication take place? How sustainable are the groups? Is it feasible to integrate financial and non-financial services? Are linkages to the formal system desirable? What is the impact of groups on members and their households? How can performance be managed? Not surprisingly, these issues mirror the preoccupation of the pioneers of microcredit. However, this book addresses them, not from the perspective of the financial institution, but in support of group members and savers who are managing their own financial services. Copies of Savings Groups at the Frontier will be available for purchase at the conference.
Financial Promise for the Poor Edited by Kim Wilson, Malcolm Harper, Matthew Griffith
Contributors to Financial Promise for the Poor cover current innovations in microsavings happening around the world. They describe how savings group members in the developing world are avoiding many of the financial liabilities and debt of other microfinance programs while gaining skills and finding opportunities in collective enterprise. The turn from credit to savings speaks to the growing empowerment of individuals and communities as they break the bonds of indebtedness and find their own paths to financial security.
Poor People’s Savings Compiled by CGAP Savings Information Resource Center (SIRC)
Fifteen experts on savings mobilization were interviewed for the SIRC on the Microfinance Gateway and their responses compiled in this document. Together they provide an overview of key savings topics such as savings demand, products, delivery models and policy issues.
Beyond Financial Services By Paul Rippey and Ben Fowler
This document summarizes the findings of a Learning Initiative carried out by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) with support from The MasterCard Foundation, to study the integration of Savings Groups (SGs) and other developmental activities. The Other Activities (OAs) include: training provided to group; products or services offered; cash or in-kind; linkages between the SG and service providers including financial institutions; creation of federations or networks of SGs; or any other product or activity in addition to the core financial activities of the SG.
Websites
CGAP is an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank and dedicated to advancing financial access for the world's poor. It is supported by over 30 development agencies and private foundations who share a common mission to alleviate poverty.
The Microfinance Gateway is a comprehensive online resource for the global community dedicated to advancing financial services for the poor. It links to other microfinance related organizations, publications, events, and jobs.
This site is for anyone interested in community-managed, savings-led groups. Savings-Revolution brings you articles, blog posts, interviews with some of the leading practitioners, photos, links, and a collection of publications about Savings Groups.
The Savings Group Information Exchange, is a centralized reporting system that provides transparent, standardized data on time-bound savings groups. The aim of this site is to facilitate useful analysis that can improve group methodologies and permit a better understanding of group-level trade-offs
The SEEP Network is a nonprofit network of over 120 international organizations who believe in the power of microenterprise to reduce global poverty. SEEP members connect in a global learning community to increase their impact in over 170 countries where they collectively serve over 77 million micro-entrepreneurs and their families.
Video and Podcasts
A Saving for Change Program in Action
A video from Freedom from Hunger, get a glimpse of how one of these groups of women, from the rural village of Koniobila, Mali runs their program to generate money to improve their entire families' lives.
An introduction to Savings Groups produced by the Aga Khan Foundation.
Savings Groups practitioners are featured in a compilation of podcasts from Savings-Revolution.
Learn more about Oxfam America’s Saving for Change program, an alternative microfinance model which self-replicates on a large scale and at a low cost.
Press
Small Wonder: A New Model of Microfinance for the Very Poor is Spreading By The Economist
How Saving Groups Empower Women in Uganda By Helen D. Gayle, President and CEO, CARE USA
Savings Groups Support Resiliency in the Sahel By Nicki Fleuhr-Lobban, Technical Advisor, FFH
Deep Outreach Financial Inclusion By Jeff Ashe, Director of Community Finance, Oxfam America
Savings groups: Building a movement By Chris Hufstader, Regional Communications Manager, Oxfam America
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