Empowering rural women in Mali through Self-Help Groups
Women form a large part of the world’s unbanked population more so in the low-income segment. Gender inequality in financial inclusion is a deterrent for the overall development of societies. To address this issue and help improve the quality of life for rural women in Mali, CAMIDE a Malian NGO worked with Manjari – an Indian NGO on creating and implementing “Yeredeme methodology” or “self-help groups methodology”. It is an innovative way to empower rural women by making them learn from each other and self-manage the groups fund on their own. In the process, making them aware of financial products and services and overall helping in improving their financially literacy. The model integrates livelihood activities development, financial intermediation, women’s empowerment, and community development. The pilot of the methodology was done in the Logo municipality in the Kayes region, Mali, and with support of CAMIDE and Benso it achieved great results.
In 2020, with support from SCBF, CAMIDE started working on scaling up the Yeredeme Methodology in other areas in the Kayes region, Mali. The project focused on improving women’s access to financial services, economic and social inclusion, and empowerment.
The methodology has proven to be a powerful tool for empowering women and reducing poverty through easy access to financial services. The success of the expansion will not only increase financial inclusion in the targeted areas but also confirm the methodology as an effective tool for economic, social, and financial inclusion that can be utilized in other regions of the country.
To understand the genesis of the methodology, evolution, success factors, learnings, and way forward along with success stories please read the detailed case study.
Picture Courtesy: poco_bw, lician coman’s images
Check the Case Study
