Innovations in savings and credit groups evidence from Kenya

Abstract

This article reports from a church based Savings and Credit Groups (SCG) project in Kenya called Tuinuane. The project builds upon the Worth program of PACT, but has added some interesting and innovative features allowing country-wide outreach: 1) It piggybacks on a church. 2) Field officers have been avoided. Instead group leaders are screened and trained through a detailed implementation plan. 3) It makes active use of mobile phones in planning, monitoring and follow-up efforts. The attachment to the church as well as access to mobile phones make plausible close to costless long term contact with mature groups. 15 months after start-up the project displays competitive results, and as a case Tuinuane seems worth watching during the years to come.