Financial inclusion

We know that building financial security is vital in helping people in vulnerable communities to move beyond month-to-month survival to build hopeful, thriving futures.

Ripple Effect is working to ensure that rural families can save safely and borrow the funds they need to start or scale-up their agri-businesses, enabling them to increase their wealth and contribute to the growth of the local economy.

To do that, we work with financial services at all levels, in both the formal and informal financial sector, ensuring that age-appropriate services are available and affordable, regardless of gender, and relevant to the need.

• Advice and training in financial management, record-keeping and business planning.
• Organising informal community savings and loans groups when necessary, or supporting existing “table top banking” services
• Linking groups to formal financial service providers for longer-term credit and saving services
• Integrating mobile money to provide digital payment and money transfer options for the groups and market agents.
  

We work to strengthen community financial structures such as Village and Savings Loans Associations (VSLAs) and Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILCs) made up from individuals known to each other within the community.

As they come together to save, the groups pool funds and begin lending to themselves for business or family needs. As the group grows, the loan portfolio available for people to borrow from keeps growing, and expanding ventures attract the attention of commercial microfinance enterprises who can offer better products and services for their businesses.