VSLAS (Village Saving & Loan Associations) - D.R. Congo

Some financing mechanisms for the economic empowerment of women in the DRC

Several financial organizations and bodies in the DRC have developed a different microcredit strategy to meet the financial needs of the poorest: The promotion of local and independent savings and credit associations, managed by the poorest populations, for the poorest populations. poorer. These associations are completely independent of commercial banks, financially and institutionally. Loans are solely based on the savings of the members of the group, without the contribution of outside money.

Village Savings and Credit Associations (AVEC) solidarity groups bringing together women and men who are essentially poor, with irregular incomes and supposed to be of the same social status. Every penny saved or earned by the group is generated by the members themselves. They offer their members low-cost financial services, based on the principle of pooling funds.

When set up properly, VSLAs create a safe space in which women can save, access credit, receive support when faced with personal emergencies, and build a social support network.

Organizations that offer training to VSLAs:

Savings and Credit Cooperative (COOPEC) Bonne Moisson

COOPEC organizes VSLAs made up of members varying between 15 to 25 members who set individual and collective objectives.

Members hold weekly meetings to collect shares and contributions for social assistance in members' families.

Shares make it possible to have amounts to grant micro-credits to members.

These organizations are either:

• Mutuelles , CECI (Internal Savings and Credit Fund),
• WITH (Village Savings and Credit Association),
• SACCOS (Saving and Credit Cooperative Society),
• VICOBA (Village Community Bank),

The cycle varies between 9 to 12 months

The objectives of these organizations are among others:

• Promote self-help among members,
• Strengthen social and economic cohesion between members,
• Strengthen advocacy and lobbying capacities for entrepreneurship.

The contribution of the COOPEC Bonne Moisson is to facilitate the members in the organization of these groups, to strengthen the capacities of these members, to facilitate access to information and training.

The major challenge is also to help these groups to leave the informal to formalize these groups. Some members already have individual or collective accounts within COOPEC BONNE MOISSON Goma.

They aim to fight poverty, while ensuring long-term development within the community. The idea is simple: get together among villagers, save and invest in the establishment of income-generating activities beneficial to members.

The members agree on the rules during the weekly meetings which they organize and whose objective is to familiarize themselves with the notions of savings, solidarity, loan, investment, interest, debt but also to agree on the ideal interest rate when repaying.

Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) provide borrowers with affordable credit opportunities, and a savings return that generally exceeds that obtained from a formal institution.

Contact

Customer service COOPEC GOOD HARVEST

Phone: +243997783896

Email: semkayihembako@yahoo.fr

Address :

Volcanoes district

Avenue Butembo No. 21

Municipality of Goma

City of Goma

Friends of Justice - ADJ

ADJ (AMIS DE LA JUSTICE ASBL) is an apolitical and non-profit women's organization governed by the law on non-profit organizations in the DRC and its subsequent texts. It was created on November 26, 2009 and officially recognized on January 6, 2012 under number JUST 112/SK-V/2012. This organization is strongly involved in sustainable development issues in CONGO. Since 2009, she has carried out various actions in several regions of the national territory for the promotion of women's rights.

As part of the empowerment of women, ADJ is a partner in the project of the village savings and credit association (AVEC) MAWE TATU, of which the CARE INTERNATIONAL organization is the leader. Mawe Tatu is a Swahili concept that translates to three pebbles.

These are groups of 20 to 25 women who set aside money and take out small loans from these savings. VSLA activities operate in “cycles” of approximately one year, after which accumulated savings and profits from loans are distributed among members in proportion to the amount they have saved.

The first cycle of AVEC consists of a 36-week training and supervision cycle. During this first cycle, the Associations meet weekly. At the end of the first cycle, the certified VSLAs will share the savings and profits each year.

VSLAs are managed by its members. The program team and the Village Agents train the members, but they will never manage the VSLAs, will never write in the account books and will never touch the money belonging to the members.

VSLAs are trained by Field Agents (paid program staff) or Village Agents (who receive fees from the VSLA for training). Village Agents are VSLA members who have been recognized as having the skills to train others and create other VSLAs. The role of the Village Agents is to:

• Assist the VSLAs they have formed when they want assistance between cycles (distribution of funds, modification of membership composition, revision of the constitution, elections)
• Provide refresher courses
• Assist in conflict resolution
• In the long term, they can provide a range of formal financial products as agents (of insurance companies, banks, transfer service companies, etc.)

Members save by buying between 1 and 5 shares at each meeting. The value of a share is decided by the AVEC at the beginning of each cycle. At each meeting, all members have the right to buy between 1 and 5 shares. The value of a share is fixed at the beginning of each one-year cycle and cannot be modified during the cycle.

Address:

Avenue Patrice Emery Lumumba No. 172,

Municipality of Ibanda

City of Bukavu

South Province – Kivu

Democratic Republic of Congo

Contact

+243 82 39 074 75, +243 99 34 886 13, +243 84 22 762 05

Email: gregoirem81@gmail.com

friendsofjustice2009@gmail.com

Skype: gregoireK3

Mrs. Chance MPALIRWA, Head of Projects at ADJ ASBL

Phone: 0853507571/0891353822

mpalirwachance@gmail.com

International Care:

nbsp Care International is a non-denominational and apolitical international solidarity NGO created in the United States in 1945. This structure has been developing several projects to fight poverty in collaboration with certain humanitarian agencies and local NGOs since its establishment in the DRC in 1994.

Contact :

Telephone: + (243) 81 685 98 66

Email: kinshasa.drc@co.care.org

Caritas Development Congo (CDC) : is a non-profit association created in 1960 and restructured in 1993, it represents a social pastoral instrument at the service of the Episcopate of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Contact and address

Click here to see the addresses and contacts of all Caritas offices

IMPACT : Transforms the management of natural resources in areas where security and human rights are threatened

Address and contact

info@impacttransform.org

+16132376768

UGEAFI: Is a non-governmental development organization that has existed since 2002. Its vision is to contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic and cultural living conditions of its target group.

Address and contact

2, Avenue du Lac, Kimanga District, Uvira, South Kivu-DRC

Phone: +24382117175, +243990620022

Email: ugeafi@yahoo.fr