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Savings
Savings are particularly important for households with small, irregular incomes. It is one of the main financial products to help the poor sustain their lives. Households need to save money to reduce their vulnerability to negative shocks, such as natural disasters, crop failures, job losses, illness or death in the family. There are various savings methods which enable poor people to be financially included, going from holding savings accounts to group savings and more recently digital savings- all methods supported by SDC. The SDC Guidance on Mobilizing Savings provides an overview of the needs and demands of low-income households for savings services, as well as savings mobilisation from the perspective of a financial institution and the regulatory financial authorities in developing and transition countries. It is conceived as a tool for SDC staff and partners as well as for all other persons involved in the promotion of savings services by financial institutions.
Case Studies
SDC, InovAgro Mozambique
[649 kB]
Smallholder farmers (SHF) always have great problems accessing the financial resources needed at planting season to purchase improved seeds and other inputs, as well as pay for labor needed at this peak work period. There are both supply side, as well as demand side, set of issues. In Mozambique, it is not easy for financial institutions to lend to SHF. Financial institutions face many legal requirements to .... >> more
Fonkoze Financial Services, Haiti
[984 kB]
This case study is based on the experience of Fonkoze, a microinsurance project co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It forms part of a series of thematic case studies of SDC’s Employment + Income Network.
SafeSave, Bangladesh
[172 kB]
This case study was undertaken in the framework of an SDC programme through which Master students from Swiss Universities were given the opportunity to do their final degree thesis on a topic related to SDC’s financial sector development programme in transition and developing countries. The programme, implemented by Intercooperation, was part of SDC’s contribution to the United Nations’ Year of Microfinance in 2005.
Albanian Savings and Credit Union (ASCU), Albania
[167 kB]
This case study was undertaken in the framework of an SDC programme through which Master students from Swiss Universities were given the opportunity to do their final degree thesis on a topic related to SDC’s financial sector development programme in transition and developing countries. The programme, implemented by Intercooperation, was part of SDC’s contribution to the United Nations’ Year of Microfinance in 2005.
Relevant News
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15 Mar 2023
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29 May 2022
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08 Mar 2021
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08 Mar 2021
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04 Sep 2017
 15 March 2023
Since 2020, the Annex 2 exercise, carried out as part of the annual reports of SDC’s operational units, provides a picture of SDC’s Private Sector Engagement (PSE) portfolio. As a modality, PSEs are implemented across all of SDC’s priority topics and they are diverse in terms of objectives and private sector partners. By comparing data from SAP with information entered by operational units, we get an understanding of the universe of PSE projects SDC is engaged in. Last year, the Annex 2 database allowed SDC, for the first time, to report to the OECD on mobilizing private sector funding. You can find the overview here.
29 May 2022
Social protection plays a central role to Leave No One Behind (LNOB) and to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. Social protection is a set of public and private initiatives designed to provide protection for all against social and economic risks across the life-cycle and ensure sustainable livelihoods. Well-designed social protection systems ensure a minimum income and equitable access to essential services for the poor and vulnerable, enable people to cope with shocks and ensure dignity, social cohesion and reduce (gender) inequality. A dedicated page of the network Poverty & Wellbeing provides an overview of SDC's learning and engagement in social protection and summarises the global debate and evidence in development as well as humanitarian contexts. For more information on LNOB and IED - go to page LNOB - Inclusion & Exclusion
08 March 2021
Financial education is an essential part of smallholder empowerment. Education is a door-opener to financial inclusion, an important aspect of agricultural development. The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, together with Ebdaa Bank, recently examined the financial habits and attitudes of 150 farmers across four states in Sudan. 
Funding for this first-ever such assessment and a related financial education initiative comes from the Arab Gulf Programme for Development and the SCBF. One of the main findings of the survey is that most participants understand the need to track their savings but declare not usually knowing how much money they have available for daily spending. When unexpected expenses do arise and participants are unable to cover them, they usually turn to friends or family for support, despite being clients of financial institutions. >> more.
08 March 2021
SCBF has awarded grant funding to World Vision and VisionFund International to pilot the provision of insurance services to underserved populations in Ghana and Malawi.
The project will provide informal savings groups with insurance services that cover accidents, healthcare needs and lost income due to hospitalisation for group members and their dependents. When the project is fully rolled out, more than 87’000 Ghanaians and 272’625 Malawians will have access to insurance. >> more
04 September 2017
Our next Savings and Credit Forum will take place on Thursday, 28th September 2017 in Berne. Low-income households do not only need credit, they also need savings, insurance and money transfer services. Low-income households save. How do they save and what for? What obstacles... >>more
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