Savings clubs are local, community-led groups that empower members to manage their resources (both financial and environmental) and provide training and support to households for long-term planning and investment which are critical for the well-being of their communities and the ecosystems they rely on. At Rare, savings clubs act as a steppingstone for rural communities to the formal economy, facilitating adoption of sustainable financial behaviors to prepare households to engage with financial institutions.
The first Rare savings clubs were introduced by Fish Forever in the Philippines in 2017 to provide small-scale fishing communities access to financial services. Since then, over 700 savings clubs have been established in six countries, reaching nearly 15,000 community members.
Savings clubs provide tools that build more resilient communities, better able to recover from shocks without resorting to unsustainable fishing or farming practices.
For many rural communities today, savings clubs are a household’s first introduction to a systematic method for saving, accessing social protections, and accessing debt through loans. The clubs are also platforms for members to access financial literacy training provided by Rare, connect to financial services, and learn about capacity building and small business development.
