VSLAS (Village Saving & Loan Associations) - Ethiopia

VSLAs and cooperative societies for Ethiopian women

Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Ethiopia are critical to enabling women living in poverty to increase their financial skills, gain access to and control over resources, and generate economic opportunities and income which in turn contribute to poverty reduction and women empowerment. 

VSLAs are formed with a self-managed group of 20-30 individuals that meets on a regular basis to provide its members a safe place to save their money, to access loans, and to obtain social or emergency insurance coverage.  It is common that each member will contribute a specified amount of money to a savings pool and after a certain amount of capital has been accumulated, the accumulated fund becomes a readily accessible source of credit for members.