Case Study

CARE International’s MicroLead-funded programme in Tanzania was designed to empower women economically through informal savings groups, using CARE’s Village Savings and Loan Association Group (VSLA) methodology and linking these groups to formal financial service providers. The franchisee model - a model which through CARE Kenya’s programming has been found to substantially reduce the cost of VSLA formation and lead to sustainable group replication – was selected as the delivery method for this programme. This represented a new approach for CARE Tanzania.

CARE Tanzania learned throughout implementation that this cost-effective model presents challenges, but that it has advantages as well, successfully growing household and community savings and allowing savings group members to save at and borrow from formal financial institutions.