CARE Cambodia Savings Mobilisation Project - Battambang Province Case Study
This case study outlines the steps the CARE Cambodia project staff undertook to establish a voluntary savings based MFI in Cambodia's northwest Battambang Province in 1998.
The CARE Cambodia Small Economic Activity Development Savings Mobilisation Project:
- Is structured much like a credit union or a savings cooperative, to test the feasibility of voluntary savings among the poor;
- Was funded by AusAID and CARE Australia;
- Had 75 savings banks in 72 villages and 6000 active savers by March 2001.
CARE Cambodia staff initiated the project through the following steps:
- Approached villages;
- Established a special executive committee (SEC) consisting of members;
- Provided periodic basic awareness, bookkeeping, and leadership training to
the SEC.
From the start, the project's goal included sustainability and self-sufficiency without donor funding for technical or operational assistance. The trainings, as well as the detailed and accurate reporting and record-keeping, reflected the transfer of skills/knowledge from the staff to the members and high levels of transparency.
The paper lists some lessons learnt as:
- Members value economic opportunities and security;
- Project helped establish a good relationship between staff, members, and local authorities;
- Common ownership was valued by members;
- Establishment of voluntary savings mechanism in this manner can be successful.
It also highlights some of the challenges/constraints the savings mobilization project faced:
- Addressing the demand for larger loans when loans are allocated based on the level of savings deposited;
- Dealing with the heavy workload of CARE Cambodia project staff as well as the executive committee;
- Establishing security for the larger savings banks;
- Rapidly adjusting MIS to changes in system and expansion.
