Mobile Solutions for Savings Groups

Net Hope Webinar, Dec 3rd, 2015

How a Savings Group works Savings Groups are self-selected, community based, and require little

to no infrastructure to form

•SGs are relatively easy to establish and require little to no infrastructure

•A knowledgeable facilitator, a lock box, and minor tools are all that is required to get started. Groups continue to operate well past their first share out, with many operating for +4 years

•Savings Groups are seen, even for the very poor and for those living far from bank branches, as a powerful strategy to create savings and borrowing capacity,.

Why it Works

1. Groups of 15 to 30 people (typically women), meet on a weekly or biweekly basis to save into a common fund.

2. The common fund is used to support loans within the savings group as needed, with the loan interest used to provide a return on the invested savings.

3. At the end of a set cycle (typically 9-12 months), the savings, with accumulated interest, is “shared out” amongst the group members and a new cycle begins.

How It Works

Savings

Loans

Savings Group

Financial Inclusion Ladder

3

December

2015

Two Challenges, Two Solutions

Limitations of paper records

Fear of Losing Records

Lack of Visibility by Bank

Distance to the bank branch

Security in Community

Security In and Cost of Transit

Challenge #1: Limitations of Paper Records

“If I could send the

bank a picture of

our records they

could see more

information about

us; we’d be

somebodies, not

nobodies.”

“One time the box

was stolen and we

lost the books. We

didn’t know who

had loans out, no

one stepped

forward, and so no

one repaid.”

Risk of theft

or damage

Fraud risk

No visibility

Time-

consuming

LedgerLink

Secure

Discover-

able

Simplifies

meetings

eRecording

Challenge #2: Distance to the Bank

Branch

Costly

Risk of theft

Fraud risk

Lack of real-

time visibility

“I would trust a

phone SMS

message from

the bank more

than a paper

receipt.”

“Even when we

deposit, we send

at least two

people. Ideally

we’d send three

each time to have

a witness.”

eKeys: Group Wallet with Bank

Linkage

Digitizing the analogue 3-

key approach

Leveraging the MNO

distribution channel

eKeys: Group Wallet with Bank

Linkage

Airtel Group

e-Wallet

Deposit (Cash-In) from Savings Group –> Airtel Group Wallet via Agent

Push (Send to Bank) from Airtel Group Wallet –> Barclays Group Account

Airtel Group

e-Wallet

Step 2: eKeys

Step 1: Airtel Weza

3 PIN

SMS notification

SMS notification

3 PIN

SIM holder

SIM holder

Mobile Money Products for

Groups

Group

**** ****

****Initiation of

transaction

Two approvals

SMS notifications

to members

Transaction

carried out

SMS

Lack of group functionality in mobile

wallets is a huge barrier to financial

inclusion of VSLAs. How can we

convince more MNO’s to develop group

products.

Once group data is digital, how can it

be used to build financial identity?

What’s Next?