Village Savings and Loans Associations in Action: The Tumu Experience

Despite the fact that Ghana has been rated a middle income country, poverty and food insecurity are very much pronounced in the Upper West Region, of which Tumu is of no exception. Poor access to institutional financial services has been identified as one of the main factors fueling this situation. Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities (YARO) introduced the Village Savings and Loans microfinance model to women at Tumu after they have been trained by Plan Ghana. This book is an assessment of the scheme on the socio-economic life of the resulting 6 Village Savings and Loans Associations at Tumu facilitated by YARO. The results show a remarkable improvement in access to institutional financial services, organizational skills, enterprise development, financial management, social capital, personal and capital assets, food and nutrition security, financing of children’s education, insurance and household decision-making. The women however need to take more interest in local government politics for them to address the institutional constraints of poverty with gender dimension.