Microsavings through Village Savings and Loan Associations

Savings Groups are self-managed groups of 15-25 individual members from within a community who meet regularly to save their money in a safe space, access small loans and obtain emergency insurance.

Four years in to the Global VSLA scaling strategy, VSLAs still continue to serve as an effective vehicle for economic justice and long-term resilience. Since 2020, the Women Respond initiative has surveyed over 17,000 women in 23 countries and has indicated that VSLAs not only increase resilience, but also decrease challenges around income, food, and healthcare. VSLAs in Emergencies has shown that when power is returned to even the most vulnerable women, they are able to improve their situation.

As we look ahead to 2030, we believe that scaling VSLAs and supporting VSLA members to pursue their goals can have a substantial impact on the achievement of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. But we recognize that achieving scale demands not only that CARE continues to embed VSLAs in our own work, but also that we work in new ways and with new partners.

In the face of multiple restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, VSLA groups have still found adapted ways to keep their groups running, such as meeting digitally or only having VSLA leaders meet. As a result, 85% of VSLA members are still meeting even after COVID-19.

With two cross-cutting initiatives to drive innovation and inclusion:

Digital

Enhancing economic and social opportunities across VSLA programming through digital inclusion.

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Women Respond

Ensuring VSLA implementation listens to women's voices and centers around women's needs.

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Highlighted microsavings programs

Her Money, Her Life

The Her Money, Her Life project is maximizing the potential benefits women receive from their crops through a focus on entrepreneurship and collective investment.

Community Trust

Empowering women microentrepreneurs by creating pathways to economic stability and financial education for BIPOC communities in the United States.

Pennies to Power

The Pennies to Power program will enable women in savings groups to mobilize an estimated $15 billion each year, create new enterprises and dramatically change women’s ability to work together.

VSLA in Emergencies

This program will ensure that CARE’s cash and voucher assistance and “cash-plus” programming are informed by those who are experiencing crisis in order to meet their immediate needs and transform their lives as the situation stabilizes.

Women for Change

The Women for Change project empowers female cocoa farmers and women living in cocoa-farming households to increase their participation in community development and in making decisions on business and livelihood management.

Indashyikirwa

The Indashyikirwa project worked with couples to reduce intimate partner violence and improve the wellbeing of survivors in selected communities in seven districts of Rwanda. It also aimed to strengthen the evidence base for community prevention and response for violence against women.

LINK Up

LINK Up connected 10,000 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) with formal financial institutions in order to build financial inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania.

Journeys of Transformation

Journeys of Transformation works with men and boys to support equality and women’s social, political, and economic empowerment.

Her Money. Her Power. – FY24 Global VSLA Annual Report

This FY24 VSLA Annual Report shares progress made on CARE’s 12-year VSLA Scaling Strategy, underscoring VSLAs as a global force for economic empowerment and beyond. Guided by the voices of our VSLA members, we’re delivering comprehensive impact for 20 million people across 67 countries, as we advance toward our 2030 goal of reaching 62 million people—50 million of whom are women and girls—with VSLAs.

Unlocking Financial Prosperity in Bangladesh through VSLA

The Bangladesh Central Bank issued a policy that formally recognizes VSLA groups. This legitimization is leading to a significant increase in financial access and increased economic power for underprivileged women across Bangladesh. This brief overviews the process of collaboration between CARE and the Bangladesh Central Bank as well as how they will be moving forward.

Microsavings through Village Savings and Loan Associations

Education and Work

In 2018, CARE launched a 12-year Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) scaling strategy with a goal of supporting 50 million women and girls – 65 million people overall – to form Savings Groups by 2030.

Since 1991, CARE has helped 8.4 million people join savings groups

VSLA members experience an average increase in income of 2.75x over five years

Celebrating 30 years of VSLA

There are four ways that VSLAs will be formed