Project 05CompletedWomen's Economic Empowerment

Chididi Savings & Capital Building Project

Women-led savings, entrepreneurship and financial independence in rural Nsanje.

The Chididi Savings and Capital Building Project strengthened women's financial literacy, saving habits, entrepreneurship and participation in household and community decision-making. The project used locally managed savings groups so women could build capital from their own resources rather than depend solely on external credit.

Location: Chididi, Nsanje District, Malawi
Dates: January 2011 – December 2013
Countries: Malawi
Primary participants: Women organised in community savings groups across Chididi

Project overview

Building financial independence from community-owned savings.

The project was implemented with support from Volkart Vision between January 2011 and December 2013. It was designed around the idea that savings and capital building can strengthen women's independence and create a practical foundation for small enterprise and household resilience.

SURCOD's approach combined savings-group formation with business management, production skills and participatory decision-making. Community members managed their own group processes and savings, reinforcing ownership and reducing dependence on formal financial services that were largely inaccessible in the target area.

Related SURCOD programme

Gender, Health & Inclusion →

Objectives

What the savings project set out to achieve.

Reduce women's economic dependence by strengthening locally managed savings and capital building.

Build women's capacity in business management, production skills and entrepreneurship.

Diversify household income through savings, enterprise and farming activities.

Strengthen women's participation in group and community decision-making.

Create savings habits and financial structures that communities could continue managing themselves.

Methodology

Participatory, group-managed and rooted in members' own resources.

The project used participatory village savings groups in which members developed rules, saved regularly, discussed business ideas and made decisions together. Training was designed to complement the savings mechanism with practical entrepreneurship and production knowledge.

Activities

Formation and strengthening of women-led community savings groups.
Training in saving, financial literacy and basic business management.
Participatory group discussions to include women's views in decision-making.
Support for enterprise planning, production skills and household income diversification.
Engagement of local leaders to recognise and support community savings structures.

SURCOD implementation role

Supporting women to build capital, confidence and collective decision-making.

✓SURCOD facilitated group formation, training and participatory planning with women in Chididi.
✓The organisation promoted a model based on members saving their own resources and managing their own group structures.
✓Local leaders were engaged to strengthen legitimacy and community ownership of the groups.
✓SURCOD linked financial literacy with entrepreneurship and broader women's empowerment goals.

Results

Savings groups becoming practical platforms for women's empowerment.

Community savings groups established

Women organised into savings groups, using shared saving and group decisions to build financial confidence and strengthen their participation.

MWK 50,000 saved by Chitsanzo group

Members of Chitsanzo savings group in Masimo Village accumulated MWK 50,000 over nine months through their own savings.

Women's decision-making strengthened

Project training deliberately included group discussion and participatory decision-making so women's views shaped the initiative.

Impact and follow-up

The project demonstrated that locally managed savings can provide women with a practical route to build capital, plan small enterprises and reduce financial dependence.

The model also strengthened social organisation: savings groups became spaces where women could make decisions collectively, exchange ideas and connect financial empowerment with wider household and community participation.

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