Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) help smallholder farmers access basic financial services and support in hard-to-reach areas. In many rural…

The Mars Impact Fund and Save the Children Indonesia have launched the Women R.I.S.E. (Resilient & Inclusive Systems for Empowerment) Program, a three-year initiative designed to strengthen the resilience of cocoa-growing communities while advancing child protection and women’s economic empowerment across Indonesia. Supported through a $3 million grant from the Mars Impact Fund, the program will expand Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and strengthen community resilience programs in cocoa-growing regions. The initiative reflects the Mars Impact Fund’s mission to accelerate meaningful, lasting impact in the communities where Mars operates.…

Dear Friends, As the Program Manager of Hope for Haiti's Economic Development Program, I am thrilled to share with you the incredible impact we are making through our Village Savings and Loan Associat...

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This brief updates EJF’s report Levelling The Playing Field : Assessing the impact of Village Savings andLoans Associations (VSLAs) in Liberia’s coastal…

YouTube video by Raising The Village

Christine and Fausta, from a last-mile region in Uganda, have been taking small but confident steps to provide a better life for their families. By implementing modern farming techniques, saving small...

AFRICAN GREAT LAKES — The TLC organization supporting Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Gicumbi District are progressing well. Community members con…

“We did an initial survey to discuss with women,” Moira recalls. “And one main message from all the women we talked to became clear. ‘What we need is to make ends meet. We need capital.’ The women cultivated small plots of land their husbands had given them, growing just enough to feed their families until the next rainy season. The tree-planting program, built around eucalyptus and neem trees meant to improve agricultural production over time, held little appeal. The women weren’t interested in investing years of effort in land that could be taken from them so easily, and trees alone wouldn’t feed their families in the meantime. What they needed was money for inputs and other income-generating activities, and a way to get it that didn’t mean borrowing from relatives or paying crushing interest to loan sharks. “So, I asked them, what do you do when you need cash?” Moira remembers. The women described what they already had: informal savings pools known locally as tontines (or ‘merry-go-rounds’ in English). Each member contributed a set amount and took turns receiving the full pot. It worked, but only up to a point. Once the cycle ended, so did the fund. It didn’t...

In a small Ghanaian village just a few hours’ drive from the city of Kumasi, cacao farmers of all ages and genders gather in a courtyard, waiting to collect money from a grey metal cash box sitting on...

This report looks at gender issues in Liberia's fisheries community and advancing the status of women and marginalised groups in small-scale fisheries.

YouTube video by Environmental Justice Foundation

Watch Dunia’s journey and discover how she represents an inspiration of driving resilience through digital inclusion and women-led businesses in some of Yemen’s most vulnerable communities. From cash for nutrition and health education to VSLAs, micro-enterprise support and e-wallet services, it is the combination of interventions that has created a real empowerment pathway for rural Yemeni women like Dunia.

Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) is a great tool for building drought resilience in affected communities. With value-driven accountable structures, the system provides a self-managed financial safety net that promotes livelihood diversification, and strengthens social support networks. Courtesy of Australian Humanitarian Partnership and Turkana Pastoralist Development Organization (TUPADO), Erichom Group in Lowarengak, County Government of Turkana, is slowly, with dignity, transforming members' livelihoods through access to small, low-interest loans from a communal fund. The fund is creating a crucial buffer, enabling the once stigmatized households to manage financial shocks caused by drought, cover medical costs, or purchase essential food supplies.

Subscribe! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=FAOoftheUN This video documents how the EU-funded CLIMB project is supporting climate-resilient livelihoods in Kismayo, Jubaland State. Through canal rehabilitation, improved water management and the provision of quality seed inputs as well as the role of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in strengthening household resilience, incomes and nutrition outcomes. Follow FAO on social media! * Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UNFAO * Instagram - https://instagram.com/fao * LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fao * TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@fao * Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/fao/ * Weibo - https://www.weibo.com/unfao © FAO: http://www.fao.org #SDGs #Agenda2030 #GlobalGoals

In Kakuma 3, Irene Nimbona is a Vijanana Kilimobizz participant specializing in horticulture production, with a primary focus on spinach, okra, and kale. She empowers other young women through VSLAs, provides training in horticulture production, and supports young women in selling vegetables through local groceries in Kakuma. In a documentary series titled "Nguvu: Stories of Strength and Resilience", we highlight the extraordinary journeys of courage, transformation, and hope as young people across Africa overcome adversity to become change makers and innovators in agriculture and their communities. Learn more about the series here: https://mastercardfdn.org/en/nguvu-stories-of-strength-and-resilience/

This video highlights how the Sustainable Employment through Agribusiness (AgriBiz) Programme integrates gender equality into its activities to create lasting impact. Through targeted initiatives, over 40 young women have been trained to operate and maintain agricultural machinery, breaking stereotypes and driving change in their communities. The programme also strengthens women’s access to finance through the establishment of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) across Northwestern Ghana, enabling farmers to save, invest, and support one another. Additionally, the video features an inspiring beneficiary who is empowering over 1,000 women along the shea value chain, showcasing how women’s leadership is transforming agribusiness in Ghana. #Agriculture #Gender #WomenEconomicEmpowerment #AccesstoFinance