We are very pleased to announce the arrival of a new member to the family.
No, we are NOT talking about children or grandchildren. Rather, VisionFund International, World Vision’s microfinance subsidiary, is growing. This time, we are not opening a new microfinance institution in a new country. We are strengthening our ability to support the digital transformation of both savings groups and Lending to Savings Groups (FAST).
VisionFund is the proud owner of DreamStart Labs, the creator of the DreamSave app, used by 35,000 savings groups with 700,000 members around the world.
With all the excitement of a new family member, we do not want to neglect to present THRIVE’s annual results. As you will see, our results are good and generally strong, and fully in line with our expectations. Finishing the third year of our 8-year business plan, we are in good shape as we enter the mid-way section of our work.
I like making announcements like these!
DreamStart Labs joins the World Vision family
The World Vision family has expanded, with DreamStart Labs joining the team. The San Diego-area company is now part of the portfolio of companies, mostly microfinance institutions, run by VisionFund International, our microfinance subsidiary.
DreamStart Labs (DSL) has been a critical partner in World Vision’s THRIVE 2030 business plan from its inception. DSL is the creator of DreamSave — mobile phone-based software that is used within savings groups to manage records and bookkeeping, provide links to external financial providers like VisionFund, and build credit history for the groups.
DreamSave is used in 35 countries—including all 11 THRIVE countries, supports 20+ languages and serves a global network of over 700,000 members across 35,000 savings groups. VisionFund International’s investment will enable DreamStart Labs to deepen product innovation, expand its analytics capabilities, and enhance technical support for partners advancing savings-led development in diverse contexts.
The DreamSave app allows a savings group to significantly reduce the time it takes to run their meeting by using this digital tool. It also allows World Vision to more easily track and support thousands of groups around the world and provides the platform for VisionFund to know when groups are ready for a FAST loan and to extend FAST loans to groups.
As part of World Vision’s commitment to ending extreme poverty for children in our lifetime, DSL’s family of products will strengthen World Vision’s ability to provide the people we serve with access to the financial services they need to grow their farms and businesses.
Following training in the Biblical Empowered Worldview curriculum, encouraging people to join a savings group is the next critical step up the economic ladder for people lifting themselves out of extreme poverty. It is in a savings group where people get access to the small amounts of credit they need to start a new business or take advantage of a farming opportunity.
The happy partnership with DSL was made possible by the incredible generosity of the company’s founders and their families, who gifted the company with the hope and prayer that it would be used to bring life in all its fullness to people currently living in extreme poverty, to the glory of God.
As part of the THRIVE 2030 business plan, we are investing in DSL in order to bring digital solutions to our savings groups.
“This significant investment reflects our belief in the DreamStart technology and our strategic understanding of poverty. The end of extreme poverty remains possible and demands we scale digital reach into savings groups in the very poorest communities. Our investment enables this”, said Edgar Martinez, President and CEO of VisionFund International.
This is what I shared in the VFI press release: “World Vision is very excited about this investment. We believe massively scaling up the number of savings groups around the world is a key to ending extreme poverty. This investment will save savings group members huge amounts of time, will increase the ability of financial service organizations like VisionFund to lend to savings groups, and will accelerate the ability of savings group members to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.” DreamStart Labs will continue to operate as an independent technology provider for savings groups.
The company’s award-winning ecosystem of digital financial systems — DreamSave, DreamInsights, and DreamLink — is available to all non-governmental organizations (NGOs), financial institutions, and development organizations worldwide.
Both World Vision and VisionFund have been using DreamStart Labs’ technology for several years. “It has become a foundational part of our strategy to serve savings groups,” said Edgar Martinez. “To further scale our impact, we need digital tools that empower communities while giving financial institutions the data and insights required to support them effectively. DreamStart Labs delivers exactly that. We are pleased to strengthen our collaboration as we work to expand financial inclusion throughout the developing world.”
Henrik Esbensen, Ph.D., Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of DreamStart Labs, said, “At DreamStart Labs, our mission has always been to empower people in developing countries to pursue their aspirations for a better life. VisionFund is the largest owner-operated mission-driven microfinance network in the world. Their investment enhances our capacity to bring essential financial tools to even more underserved communities. It represents a significant moment not only for DreamStart Labs, but for the broader financial inclusion ecosystem.”
DreamStart Labs, welcome to the team!
Fiscal Year 2025 results for THRIVE
As can be seen in the attached copy of the THRIVE annual report for fiscal year 2025, THRIVE continues to forge ahead and is gaining strength.
THRIVE has reached nearly 4.7 million people with access to the tools they need to lift themselves out of extreme poverty, a significant way to our 2030 business plan target of 10 million. Biblical Empowered Worldview training remains both strong and the part of our program that the people we serve consistently praise as a true gamechanger for them. The number of people in savings groups continues to grow ever closer to our targets, and cumulative savings now exceeds $63 million. We are ahead of targets for training in market knowledge and access and are ahead of target in the number of people accessing loans to savings groups (FAST loans). This is quite a remarkable improvement in pacing since July!
Aiming to grow 30 times bigger than our original THRIVE program (2016 — 2021) is a good challenge and test of our model and approaches. However, by the grace of God and the hard work of our staff, we remain confident we will hit our milestones.
So far, the biggest program challenge is the adoption of digital tools and processes by the people we are serving. Even among people living in extreme poverty, cell phone use is nearly universal. Smart phone adoption is not, however, and helping people living in extreme poverty learn how to use and trust digital tools is neither easy nor quick. (What is a password?)
We have also seen that the pace of transformative change can be surprisingly quick. For example, we see that savings groups are not only embracing FAST loans, they are also discovering how inexpensive health insurance policies can shield them from the shock of health emergency expenditures.
We are thankful to God for the progress the poor are experiencing, and for our donor and prayer partners who make it possible.
Save the date!
Mark October 16-17, 2026, on your calendar for the next THRIVE Forum in Chicago.
We will be almost exactly halfway through the THRIVE 2030 business plan. It will be the best time to do a deep-dive review of our work. It will be a time to connect with our passionate THRIVE community. It will be informative and exciting for those who know and love THRIVE. But it will also be a worthy experience for people new to THRIVE, as we are crafting an immersive experience of the program we are taking to 10 million people in 11 countries.
Featuring guest speaker, Katherine Leary Alsdorf, Senior Advisor at the Global Faith and Work Initiative!
And please … spread the word! We do not want anyone to miss the Forum!
Join us in prayer
Praise God for the incredible generosity of the founders of DreamStart Labs who gifted the company to us so together we can help millions lift themselves out of extreme poverty, to the glory of God.
Praise God for the hard work of His servants who are successfully implementing the THRIVE 2030 business plan.
Pray for the hard work of building digital literacy and skills with savings group and producer group members, which is the necessary step in THRIVE prior to using digital tools like DreamSave.
Thank you for uniting with us in prayer and for your faithful partnership!
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