Microfinance From Below: The Power of Savings & Savings Groups in Frontier Economies
| Thursday, March 26 | Conference Proceedings | 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. |
| Friday, March 27 | Conference Proceedings | 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, March 28 | Practitioner Workshop | 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. |
To access conference papers and an ongoing blog discussion of key topics, please visit our conference blog at www.fletchermicrofinance.org.
| Conference Co-Chairs: | Professor Kim Wilson, The Fletcher School Jeffrey Ashe, Oxfam America |
Savings-led microfinance has exploded onto the economic landscape as a surprising alternative to credit-led microfinance. Savings groups have become the hallmark of this new sector. Called variously community-managed loan funds, self-help groups and ASCAs, savings groups now reach an estimated 100 million households worldwide, proving self-finance a worthy method to compete or complement the credit of banks and MFIs.
The concept is a simple one. Group members gather for the purpose of saving together on a regular basis. Members then borrow from their pooled savings as need or opportunity arises. Members save and borrow for many reasons – to start a small business, pay school fees or solve household medical emergencies. In rural areas, group members borrow to improve their farming or trading activities. In situations as diverse as a Sudanese refugee camp, a Calcutta slum, or a hamlet in rural Haiti, savings groups have gelled local resources into a firm base of financial exchange. Groups insure their members against household emergencies, inspire brand-new businesses, and help families send children to school. Governments, international agencies, banks, and local NGOs have minted millions of groups across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. In India alone, 45 million households connect to banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) via their savings groups.
Despite the pace at which the sector mints new groups, savings-led microfinance still lacks common principles, consensus on methods of sustaining and scaling groups and evidence of impact. Certain interventions by NGO and commercial players are hotly debated. To better understand the breakthroughs and challenges of savings-led microfinance, the Center for Emerging Market Enterprises (CEME) at The Fletcher School, Tufts University is hosting a two-day event, March 26 and 27, 2009, followed by an optional third day for practitioners, March 28. The conference is sponsored by Oxfam America and the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University. Themes of discussion include:
- The evidence of impact of savings groups on the lives of households living and coping in difficult, often isolated geographic areas.
- The links between savings groups and the formal financial system – successes and failures in connecting groups to banking and insurance services.
- Methods used by NGOs and banks to scale up the number of groups and ensure performance quality.
- The integration of savings groups into other development sectors such as water, health, agriculture, environmental protection, land tenure initiatives, and education.