World Vision Canada

Meet Immaculée, Female Mechanic-in-Training

Honouring the innovators shaping our future

98,544 items of clothing were shipped for children and adults, including footwear and uniforms.
20,689 people received clothing and footwear.
314 youth gained wage-earning employment.
1,014,425 USD was saved by community savings groups that are facilitated with World Vision's support.
9,689 people are participating in activities that generate income.
3,137 community members who received financial and business training are now using the skills they acquired.
2,951 active savings groups created settings for members to learn financial skills, save money collectively and gain access to small loans.
48,424 people were actively involved in savings groups, providing them with financial literacy training and access to small loans.
8,468 people were trained in business and entrepreneurial skills, including financial literacy and income-generating activities outside of livestock-rearing and agriculture.
6,550 people are benefitting from the installation of solar lights.
16,299 fabric was shipped, providing material for income-generating activities such as sewing businesses.

Results of World Vision Canada's projects between October 2020 and September 2021,
in partnership with Global Affairs Canada and other institutional donors

Our approach

Why is it important to empower people economically?

Breaking the poverty cycle is a complex process – but one thing seems consistent. A child’s parents have the greatest influence on her economic well-being.

World Vision works to raise the economic well-being of individual households, helping to break the poverty cycle within that family. People whose businesses are blossoming hire others to help them, breaking the cycle of poverty for other families. In time, the entire community is lifted.

World Vision empowers people in four main ways:

Microfinance
Savings groups
Market/value chain development
Training small business owners

Using these approaches, we empower people to start their own businesses, learn savings habits and improve their farming. This in turn helps them provide for their families.

How does microfinance work?

To start or expand a business, people usually need access to capital. Microfinance is the provision of financial services to people who would not normally have access to them, including:

Community Banks: Remote communities may not have ATMs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a bank. Using seed capital that is paid back over time, we train communities on how to form a bank to provide financial services to their members.

Solidarity Groups: These consist of 3-5 people who each get a small loan. The group’s members cross-guarantee each other’s loans to keep each other accountable. This has meant that more than 98% of loans are paid back within the first year, an enviable record for any banking system.

Individual Loans: Once someone has proven their financial savvy by paying back several loans, and has the collateral to sustain themselves, she might be eligible for a larger individual loan.

How does World Vision help farmers and entrepreneurs get their goods onto the market?

By helping farmers and producers access markets, we help them find better places to sell their goods. All their hard work results in a better price and profit, and more benefits for their families. We help community members to:

Develop a comprehensive understanding of how things get to market
Meet with potential buyers
Learn more about meeting industry standards
Plan for their futures, both practically and economically
Discover how to improve their production methods
Connect with partners

We help improve the methods, structures and networks involved in getting goods to market. We’re making it easier for producers and farmers to build their own businesses, form meaningful partnerships and secure their own futures.

How does World Vision train small business owners for success?

To further support the community’s success, we train business owners in the skills they require to start new endeavours and improve existing enterprises. Through a business coach, local business owners can get the information, support and advice they need to meet their requirements – all for free – giving them a strong start on the path to success.

What about community banks?

Savings allow families to prepare for the future and build up a fund in case of emergency. But saving can be difficult, especially when you’re living on very little already. Savings groups help make it easier for people to start the process of saving.

Community banks are:

made up of people who save together in a safe, convenient and flexible way
owned, managed, and operated by members using simple methods that help groups accumulate and convert small amounts of cash into savings
a way for members to access credit to help generate additional income or to deal with emergencies

With a fund that they can access when needed, members are assured of having something stored for future events, whether it’s paying for school fees, unexpected medical costs, business opportunities or other emergencies. For people who are living in poverty, having that security can make life much easier.

Where does economic empowerment fit into the timeline of World Vision's work?

When we first partner with a community, we work to address their basic needs – like food, water, healthcare, and education. Then we can address more complex community needs, like skills training, community managed savings and loan groups, and microfinance to fuel the local economy.

We train those in need to grow their business, improve farming methods and work together to form cooperatives. This helps parents become better providers for their children. And those children grow up better nourished, better educated and better equipped to break the cycle of poverty.

Resources

Report: Savings Groups: A Small Loan, a Big Difference

Savings Groups can help communities help themselves, build on their own capital and invest in their own future. Here’s how it works – and the proof that it does!