• Tanzania
  • Resources
  • Access to Finance
  • VSLAS (Village Saving & Loan Associations)
  • VSLAS (Village Saving & Loan Associations)

Quick information guide

Importance of VSLAs

      Village Savings and Loans Associations play an important role by:

  • Providing a nearby trustworthy financial institution that allows members to save and borrow money for their small businesses
  • Helping women entrepreneurs to learn from peers when it comes to doing business
  • Allowing members to instantly respond to emergencies

How can VSLAs be leveraged on for economic growth?

For VSLAs to be profitable, members need to:

  • Invest in capacity building such in financial literacy, mentorship, etc
  • Ensure good leadership for financial and behaviour control
  • Explore and invest into profitable income generating activities

Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in Tanzania

Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) are groups of people (maximum 30) commonly formed by poor target communities to provide sustainable and profitable micro finance services such as micro servings, micro-credits, micro insurance and many others.

In Tanzania, the VSLAs started in 2000 and ever since they have been evolving. To date the VSLAs have become popular in the remote areas of Tanzania where they constitute alternatives to formal financial services.
angle-left World Vision International Tanzania (WVT)

World Vision International Tanzania (WVT)

Areas of Training

  • Leadership: skills, talents and attributes
 
  • VSLAs formation: how to start a VSLA, membership and shares
 
  • Record Keeping: report reconciliation, profit gains
 
  • Entrepreneurship: business management, financial skills and money management
 
  • Gender: Gender equality, roles and empowerment

Enrollment criteria

Selection Criteria 

  • Originate from the WVT operations area
  •  known and trusted by the locals
  • Not well off
  • Honest, willing and hard working
  • Being a women if it is a women's VSLA

 Payments

  • It is free of charge when done by WVT staff
  • Attracts charges when done by consultants. Fee ranges from 80,000-120,000 per bunch of training

Frequency

  • 2 consecutive months in a year, three days a week, for all newly established VSLAs
  • Once every year for matured VSLAs

Location:

  • Training of Trainers (ToTs) is done at WVT office 
  • Training of VSLAs members is done at village level within the community

Additional services
  • Linking VSLAs members with financial institutions
  • Giving them value addition skills
  • Supporting farmers to attend agricultural shows

Events organized

At Area Development Program level, WVT holds big meetings where different VSLAs meet to share experience on business and financial management, value chain opportunities and markets

 

Contact details

Contact Address

National Office

Radio Tanzania Road, Off Njiro Road,

Block C, Plot No. 181, Njiro,
P.O. Box 6070, Arusha, Tanzania.
T: + 255- 272970136/9/

+255-27-2970144/5

Email: tanzania@wvi.org

https://www.wvi.org/tanzania

Dar es Salaam Office

New Hub Street, Plot No. 96, Mikocheni ‘A’ area,

P.O. Box 6399,

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Tel: +255 22 277 5224

For Media Inquiries wvt_communication@wvi.org
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MILELE FOUNDATION

provides training on Financial Management, Savings, Leadership and Soft skills and technical skills

Small and Medium Industrial Development Agency (SMIDA)

offers capacity building to VSLAs especially on entrepreneurship