Digitizing BeninCajù Savings Groups - Final Project Report

Financial services offered by the formal financial sector are not available to many low-income people, particularly women, in rural communities with low literacy rates and limited resources. As a result, many of these people pool their savings to form informal savings and lending groups, known as Savings and Internal Lending groups (SILCs) or Village Savings and Lending Associations (VSLAs). VSLAs meet important savings and lending needs for millions of people globally. However, traditional VSLAs remain isolated from the formal financial sector.

Digital financial services have the potential to connect these users with the formal banking sector, bringing financial services to men and women where they live and work.

This report shares important insights from the DreamSave pilot about the benefits of VSLAs transitioning from paper to digital ledgers using the DreamSave app. It found that groups were comfortable moving to the new digital process, which showed significant benefits over the traditional paper-based ledger, even in the first fund cycle.