CARE Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) — Women's Financial Inclusion and Economic Empowerment in Rural Malawi

CARE International developed the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model in the 1990s as a cost-effective route to financial inclusion for rural women who cannot access formal banking. In Malawi, CARE has operated VSLAs since the early 2000s, organising women into self-governing groups of 20–25 members who pool weekly savings, issue internal loans at agreed interest, and distribute all accumulated funds at an annual share-out.

The most rigorous independent evidence comes from an Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) randomised controlled trial spanning Ghana, Uganda, and Malawi, which tracked 15,221 rural households for 22–30 months. A separate peer-reviewed 2022 PMC study examined VSLA sustainability in Malawi specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The RCT found women's savings increased by 34%, monthly business profits rose by 24%, the number of household businesses increased by 6%, and business survival improved by 9%. Programme take-up was 32%, with 61% completing a full 8–12 month savings cycle, at an average cost of USD 7.01 per household. Women recorded a 4 percentage-point improvement in high control over household business and food decisions, and 2–3 percentage-point gains in influence over education and health expenditures. Within programme clusters, 30% of households in non-targeted communities spontaneously formed their own VSLAs. The 2022 PMC study found Malawian VSLA groups remained active and continued providing income support and savings access despite COVID-19 disruption.

CARE's global VSLA network now reaches more than 7 million people across 50+ countries and has been adopted by over 40 organisations worldwide, recognised by UNCDF and the World Bank as a proven, scalable approach to women's financial inclusion.