A closer look at the savings banks that Prosper helps participants to set up
Across Sierra Leone, women have traditionally gathered into savings groups, colloquially known as Susu Groups. While allowing women to save together, they are reliant on trust. Mismanagement is common and bad experiences are rife.
But being able to save is vital. Saving acts as an insurance in case of an unexpected crisis, such as illness of a family member. Saving can result in more significant amounts of capital to invest in a business. And saving can generate a lump sum to cover an important obligation, such as school fees.
To support participants with a safer way to save, Prosper innovated and developed a simple management system for a savings group, using symbols and tallies. Our savings bank approach is simple, effective and inclusive. Each member chooses a symbol for herself. This is used to notate what she saves in tally form, meaning anyone regardless of education or literacy level can check how much they have saved.
It uses three main tools:
A cash box with three padlocks, with the keys held by three different members.
An individual record book for each member showing what she has saved at each meeting.
A group ledger, recording all transactions for the group, which is used to track the total held in the cash box.
Embedded in our savings bank approach is the ritual of the meeting during which a group of women gather to save what they can, together. The process works as follows:
At the start of the meeting, the members holding the padlock keys come forward and the cashbox is opened. The group and individual books are taken out and distributed.
Each member receives her record book, in which she then places the amount of cash she wishes to save.
The group Chair Lady takes each member’s record book, one by one, and counts the cash. The group Secretary, who is responsible for accurately keeping the management records, notes this down in the individual and group books using tallies.
The individual book is then handed back to the relevant member, who can check that the Secretary entered the correct amount.
The next member then takes her turn to make her savings contribution, and so on until all members’ savings have been accounted for.
The Chair Lady and Secretary check the total amount saved by the members in cash with the group record book.
They then place the individual and group books, and the cash saved back inside the cashbox.
The padlocks are closed, and the keys handed to three members to safeguard until the next meeting.
This ritual underpins how the savings bank works, providing the foundations for its successful management, to support members to achieve their financial goals.
