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Empowering VSLA Members Through Digital Innovation

A woman sits down and arranges papers by a cash box.

Empowering Women through Tailored Digital Solutions: Addressing Unique Digital Needs for Growth and Empowerment in International Development

Overview

Digital Empowerment for VSLA Members: A 7-Year Vision

Our digital sub-strategy outlines a bold, seven-year journey to integrate cutting-edge technology in support of Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) members. From FY 24-30, we aim to reach millions, leveraging digital tech as a pivotal tool for economic growth, networking, and service enhancement. This strategic vision prioritizes digital inclusivity, ensuring VSLA members access vital resources and opportunities. Our approach embodies innovation and pragmatism, serving as a blueprint for digital transformation in VSLA communities.

 

The opportunity

Unleashing potential with digital integration

The integration of digital technology in VSLA initiatives presents a transformative opportunity. We stand at the cusp of a digital revolution that promises to enhance the economic and social well-being of VSLA members. By harnessing the power of digital tools, we can streamline group management, facilitate digital transactions, and provide access to essential services like credit scoring and training. This digital leap is not just about technology; it’s about empowering individuals and communities, enabling them to thrive in an increasingly digital world. Our strategy aims to create a sustainable impact, paving the way for VSLA members to navigate and capitalize on the digital landscape effectively.

Our focus

Strategic digital integration in VSLA programming

Our focus for FY 24-26 centers on two pivotal pathways: seamlessly integrating digital solutions into CARE’s programming and nurturing sustainable, impactful VSLA models. These pathways are the cornerstones of our strategy, ensuring that our digital initiatives are both innovative and most importantly grounded in practical, real-world applications. We are dedicated to developing replicable models scalable through new programs and documenting the efficacy of our Digital CARE Package.

Our strategy adopts a comprehensive approach, centering on enhancing digital literacy and skills among women. We aim to forge accessible pathways to affordable digital tools, all through a perspective deeply attuned to challenging the social norms that hinder women’s participation in the digital economy. This focused effort is key to cultivating an inclusive digital ecosystem that benefits every VSLA member, ensuring equitable opportunities and empowerment in the digital world.

Projects

Digitalization & Gender Norms: Learnings from CARE’s Digital Pilot for VSLA Members in Rwanda and Uganda

To address women’s digital exclusion, CARE developed a multi-pronged approach to delivering digital tools and skills to VSLA members, including enabling access to devices and addressing discriminatory norms. Two pilots commenced in September 2022, with 50 groups in Uganda and 50 groups in Rwanda.

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Community Credit and Land Security

This brief discusses the Commonlands initiative in Uganda, which aims to modernize land rights and financial accessibility for rural communities. By leveraging digital tools and community-based verification systems, the program seeks to enhance land security and provide access to credit, empowering marginalized groups, particularly women.

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Sanchay Sathi: Transforming VSLA Engagement through Digital Tools

The Sanchay Sathi mobile application represents a significant advancement in the digital empowerment of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Bangladesh. Focused on the challenging environments of the char and haor regions, the app supports over 2000 VSLA groups, aiding in financial inclusion and economic enhancement through digital record-keeping and management.

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Digitalizing Savings Groups in Sierra Leone

This brief highlights CARE Sierra Leone's partnership with MiKashBoks to enhance the efficiency and security of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) through digital tools. The initiative focuses on improving financial management, digital literacy, and secure transactions, particularly benefiting women in rural communities by transitioning from manual to digital financial practices.

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Mudzi Wathu Village Bank: Malawi Mobile Money Platform Enabling Inclusive, Digital Transformation of VSLA Programming

The "Mudzi Wathu Village Bank" brief outlines an innovative digital financial platform tailored for Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Malawi. Developed through a collaboration between TNM Mpamba (Malawian MNO) and CARE Malawi, the platform enhances financial inclusion by integrating digital technology with traditional financial practices. Key features include the expansion of mobile money agents, affordable feature phones, and secure transactions through the *444# USSD service.

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Echoes of Change: How a Radio Drama in Northern Uganda is Addressing Discriminatory Norms

In the first half of 2024, CARE Uganda launched a social behavior change campaign (SBCC) targeting discriminatory gender norms that limit women’s and girls’ access to and use of technology, particularly smartphones. Media-based messaging is a widely-adopted approach for shaping community behaviors and attitudes and promoting public and financial health practices in front of a broad audience. CARE Uganda used this strategy to encourage communities to reflect on their beliefs regarding technology, especially those that restrict who can use and benefit from mobile technology.

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Latest Training Resources

Smartphone Distribution Guide

A strategy to increase device accessibility for rural women by collaborating with community influencers like religious leaders and local authorities.

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Digital Risk Matrix

A comprehensive guide to navigate and address potential challenges that VSLA groups could encounter while engaging in digital programming.

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Digital Capability Messaging

This tool is designed to assist trainers in addressing certain challenges. Its purpose is to bridge knowledge gaps in digital usage and foster an environment that supports self-paced learning.

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Guide to Selecting Digital Tools for VSLA Programs

This tool can be particularly useful in evaluating digital tools for programming. Its primary purpose is to provide a step-by-step guide for teams to make informed decisions based on carefully evaluating digital products for VSLA programming.

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Digital Persona Product Sheet

This guide offers comprehensive instructions for selecting digital tools that align with the unique needs of different VSLA member personas. It's intended to help teams navigate the process of choosing appropriate tools, providing customized strategies suited to various user profiles.

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VSLA Digitization Survey

This survey focuses on evaluating the existing digital landscape within Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). It aims to catalog the current digital tools and practices in use, assess the digital skill levels of VSLA members and staff, and identify any infrastructural challenges, such as limited internet or lack of devices. Additionally, it seeks to understand how VSLA members perceive digitization, particularly noting any gender-specific responses or concerns. The purpose of this survey is to gather nuanced insights that will inform the creation of a digital strategy specifically tailored to the unique contexts and needs of VSLAs, ensuring effective and inclusive digital integration.

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DSG Hub

The DSG Hub is a digital platform strategically designed to foster effective digital programming for savings groups. This hub focuses on the unique requirements of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), promoting the creation of enduring, locally tailored digital strategies. It serves as a dynamic collaborative space for VSLA practitioners from across the digital landscape to connect, exchange insights, and spearhead innovations. The hub ensures the development of digital solutions that align with the specific cultural and operational needs of VSLA members, signifying CARE's dedicated pledge to enhancing digital inclusion and operational efficacy through digital empowerment.

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Latest Videos

Training Animation

Developed to guide Community-Based Trainers in facilitating digital capacity training for VSLA groups.

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DCP Awareness videos CSW67

This promotional video was developed to showcase the impact of DCP pilot projects in Uganda.

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Digital Inclusion for Women’s Economic Opportunity

Digital inclusion is essential for economic opportunity. 

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Equals Digital Literacy Animations

These animations have been created to effectively introduce digital literacy concepts to savings groups. To cater to different language needs, the tools are available in two customized versions: English and Kinyarwanda.

Switching ON and OFF a Smartphone and Using Apps

Part 1 of Trickle Up Digital Literacy Videos

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Making a Phone Call, Adding and Saving a Contact

Part 2 of Trickle Up Digital Literacy Videos

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Sending an SMS Text Message

Part 3 of Trickle Up Digital Literacy Videos

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