Savings Groups through Village Savings and Loan Associations

A group of women sitting on the ground facing the ground and a bowl holding items.
Economic Growth

For more than 35 years, community alternatives to banks known as Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) have enabled women to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Read our 2026 VSLA Annual Report

Savings groups are where she starts. Trusted partners connect her to the skills, markets, and finance she needs to grow.

Read the report

CARE’s VSLAs help women take control of their money and build better futures for themselves and their communities.

These savings groups are typically made up of 15-25 people from the same village or community. These neighbors meet regularly to pool their savings and offer each other small, low-interest loans to help grow their businesses, send their kids to school, and handle emergencies when they arise.

CARE has helped savings groups reach 31 million members across 67 countries — mostly in some of the world’s poorest and hardest to reach places, where traditional banks can’t or won’t go. Together, they saved $1.8 billion in the past year alone.

Once established, these community-led groups run on their own without outside funding. This makes them one of the strongest returns on investment in global aid: stronger families, steady local trade, and more resilient communities that face crises and recover.

30 years of impact and counting

For more than three decades, evidence from across CARE’s programs shows that VSLAs help women strengthen their finances and improve family well-being.

  • VSLA members see their incomes grow an average of 275% within five years.
  • Members were 50-60% less likely to face food shortages than non-members.
  • Members are up to 85% more likely to have savings available during emergencies.
Since 1991, CARE has helped over 31 million people to join savings groups

Since 1991, CARE has helped over 31 million people to join savings groups

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

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

A platform for growth

These gains reflect the power of a model that grows with women. What began as a simple way to save money has become a powerful pathway to entrepreneurship, civic participation, and access to formal financial systems. For millions of women, VSLAs are not just a safety net — they’re a launchpad for lasting prosperity.

CARE is working toward a goal of 50 million women VSLA members — 65 million people overall — by 2030. Many members are already building on their success, turning personal progress into collective momentum.

With 31 million members worldwide, savings groups represent enormous potential as local suppliers, small business owners, and changemakers. CARE walks alongside these women at every step of their journey to lasting economic growth.

Savings groups are just the beginning

Savings groups are where they start. See how women around the world are turning their loans into something bigger.

Our vision for the future

Building on VSLAs

Using savings groups as the foundation for programs in agriculture, health, education, and more — strengthening results across sectors supporting comprehensive community development in rural areas.

Partnering with governments

Working with governments to drive policies that strengthen savings groups and expand women’s economic opportunities.

Embedding VSLAs in markets

Collaborating with businesses to connect savings groups to local and regional markets, creating new economic opportunities.

Adapting for crisis settings

Redefining humanitarian assistance through savings models that function during emergencies and help communities recover faster.

Our approach in action

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.

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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.

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VSLA in Emergencies

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

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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.

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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.

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Journeys of Transformation

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

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Resources

2026 Annual Report on Savings Groups

As crises around the world deepen, community savings groups remain one of the few sources of support women can count on.

Read the report

2025 VSLA Annual Report

As VSLAs continue to scale around the world, women are shaping how savings groups can serve their needs as their ambitions grow. CARE is investing in the systems which will help them succeed.

Read the report

VSLA Resource Library

Access CARE's tools, manuals, and guides for effective VSLA implementation, from group formation to monitoring guidance and emergency adaptation. Built for teams, partners, and organizations ready to start or strengthen savings groups.

Access the library

Get in touch!

Interested in learning more? Contact Vidhya Sriram at vidhya.sriram@care.org.

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