The newest component of World Vision’s Economic Empowerment Business Plan is a breakthrough financial product for the poorest people on our planet. We call it FAST – Finance Accelerating Savings Group Transformation.
FAST is one of the most exciting developments in microfinance for people living in extreme poverty in the last 20 years. With our microfinance subsidiary VisionFund International providing loans to savings groups, we see people accelerate the pace at which they move up the economic ladder out of extreme poverty. With FAST loans, savings groups are able to lend their members even more money. Because their members are earning more money, and because there is an incentive to save even more in order to get a bigger loan next time, savings groups increase their total savings by 40-60% per year. External evaluations by research organization 60 Decibels show that FAST loans improve the food security and school participation of children.
Rather than focusing on the mechanics of FAST, we wanted to share a story about Grace in Zambia. Grace is a member of a savings group that got a FAST loan from VisionFund. It is a real-life story of how FAST is transforming lives and livelihoods.
We are also including links to a description of our FAST Starter Kit offer, as well as to a real report one of our donors received. When you invest $25,000 in a FAST Starter Kit, a local female field officer is hired and equipped with training, transportation, and the loan capital needed to lend to up to 30 savings groups. The report provides an update about the credit officer’s portfolio, a link to an interactive map showing where the groups meet, and a story about one of the credit officer’s groups’ members.
Because of the generous partnership of our donors, ALL donations made through the FAST Starter Kits will be matched 1:1 for expanding our ministry through the Economic Empowerment Business Plan.
And FAST is moving … fast! VisionFund now has over 109,000 members of savings groups who are current FAST clients. We are excited about FAST, and are sure you will be too.
Enjoy the newsletter!
In Focus: A FAST Story from Zambia
Grace Chitungu (56) is married with eight children. Her family lives in Lusangu, Zambia and she earns a living by growing vegetables in her garden and selling to her community.
Grace joined the “Hope Savings Group” in 2015 because she wanted to learn how to make more money for her family and how to save.
Grace’s savings group recently decided to take out a FAST loan with VisionFund Zambia. Grace then took a loan from her group, and used this money to buy two cows so she could start a new milk business. While the new business brought new income, it also brought a new challenge - transportation.
Grace sells her milk in a neighboring town, but she was struggling to transport large quantities of milk. However, by saving the profits she made from her milk sales, she was able to buy a bicycle. Now, she is able to transport her milk with no problem.
Grace’s growing business enables her to buy the everyday things she needs like fabric for clothing and soap without needing to ask her husband for money. Grace is looking after her family and is able to meaningfully contribute to her household’s income. Her family eats three meals a day, and all the children are in school. She was even able to use her profits to buy a solar water pump for her house and garden. In the future, she plans to expand her farm and start growing soybeans. She also wants to start buying and raising sheep.
Grace told us that she recommends VisionFund to her friends all the time. She explained that she needed the loan to help her family, and was not able to get it anywhere else. In closing she said, “I thank VisionFund for the help they have given me, and people like me. My life has been changed by my savings group and their loan.”
To Partner with Us:
Give to the Economic Empowerment Global Fund: THRIVE 2030 to help us reach 10 million people in 10 countries with the tools they need to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Tools include Bibilical Empowered Worldview, Savings for Transformation Groups, Local Value Chain Development, and FAST.
Praisethat Honduras and Guatemala have been spared from devastating hurricanes this year.
Prayfor the national teams (World Vision and VisionFund) putting the final touches on their detailed country-level Economic Empowerment business plans. The teams are gathering in Arusha, Tanzania from December 12-16. The teams are from: Guatemala, Honduras, Senegal, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, and Myanmar.
Pray for rain for farmers and pastoralists in the Horn of Africa. Thanks to a stalled “La Nina” event, the region has experienced 5 failed rainy seasons over the last 3 years which has devastated the non-irrigated agricultural sector, and led to food insecurity and famine.
In 2021, 90 percent of World Vision's total operating expenses were used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need. Learn More.
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