In 2005 Oxfam America initiated Saving for Change (SfC), a new microfinance model in Mali, West Africa that has expanded rapidly in the past four years. SfC departs from earlier models, such as the Grameen Bank, in which external institutions provide micro-loans to the rural poor. SfC’s model trains rural women to establish local savings groups and lend their own capital to members to invest in microenterprise activities. Since 2008 BARA has partnered with Oxfam to conduct a qualitative evaluation on the household and village level impacts of SfC. A summary of key findings from fieldwork in Mali in 2008 and 2009 reveals that while SfC’s success is closely related to increasing social cohesion and solidarity among women, a significant portion of profits from income-generating activities is not recapitalized in business activities. Rather, the primary local use of microfinance is to provide a buffer against household shocks in a climate of persistent vulnerability. Following a brief discussion of the research, we will present a short video documentary depicting women’s experiences with SfC in the Malian village of Dio-gare.
