Beyond Financial Services A Synthesis of Studies on the Integration of Savings Groups and Other Developmental Activities

This document summarises the findings of a Learning Initiative carried out by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) with the supports from the MasterCard Foundation, to study te integration of Savings Groups (SGs) and other developmental activities. 

The Other Activities (OAs) include: training provided to group members (separate from training for financial activities); products or services offered; cash or in-kind; linkages between the SG and service providers including financial institutions; creation of federations or networks of SGs; or any other product or activity in addition to the core financial activities of the SG (internal saving, borrowing, and insurance).

In most of the cases studied, the OA was added to the SG after it began financial activities, but in other cases the order is reversed, and training in the core financial activities is offered to a group that is already engaged in an OA.