ATLANTA (October 27, 2008) - CARE today announced it has received an $11 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund a major initiative aimed at improving livelihoods in the developing world. The new project is called Save Up – Access to Financial Services through Savings Associations and Linkages, and will incorporate some 300,000 people, 70 percent of them women, into village savings and loan associations (VS&L) in rural areas and urban slums in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.
A VS&L is a group of 10 to 20 members – usually women – who save small sums of money each week, building savings to pay for basic life necessities like educational fees, medical bills or emergencies. The savings are pooled to create a fund from which they can access loans. The loans, which are repaid with interest, can be used to start or expand small businesses that can improve family incomes through investments like buying crop fertilizer, acquiring an animal for breeding, or setting up a small sales kiosk. With the resulting income, women can improve the health, education and well-being of their families. At an average household size of 5, Save Up will mean improved economic opportunity for an estimated 1.5 million people.
A further goal is to link 20 percent of program participants to existing financial institutions so they can access formal financial services such as savings, credit and insurance. Very few of the people in Africa who live on less than a dollar a day have access to financial services that can help them increase their financial security and improve their lives.
"CARE's experience is that when women have the tools to save and invest, whole communities benefit," said Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE. "The challenge has been to implement that successful strategy on a larger scale in a sustainable way. Through access to Save Up's village savings and loan associations, millions of people will have the opportunity to improve their lives."
Funding for the project is from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Financial Services for the Poor initiative, which works with partners to make savings and other financial services available in developing countries so the poor can better manage life's risks and take advantage of life's opportunities.
"These savings and lending groups can be very powerful tools for poor people in remote communities who have had limited or no access to financial services," said Bob Christen, director of the foundation's Financial Services for the Poor initiative. "When people can build household financial security, they are better positioned to weather hard times and take advantage of opportunities for a better future."
About CARE:
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE tackles underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient. Recognizing that women and children suffer disproportionately from poverty, CARE places special emphasis on working with women to create permanent social change. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people – especially those with the fewest resources – have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
