SaveAct Savings and Credit Groups
and Small Enterprise Development
4th August 2014
What does SaveActdo?
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
A stepped-approach, with self-selection ‘filters’:
Channelling human capital
Mobilisation of
Savings & Credit
Groups:
•Savings as a ‘glue’
stimulating social
capital
•Social fund
•Platform for
efficient & effective
support strategies
Savings & Credit
Life skills training
& financial
education
•Enhances
awareness of risks&
opportunities
•Economic literacy
•Improved coping
strategies
•Consumption
smoothing
•Improved capacity
to take risk
Enterprise
development
•Stimulates
formation of
enterprises
•Incubated in
savings groups &
commodity
investment groups
•Fed by savings&
credit, share-outs,
Isiqalo Training
•Improved
capacity for self-
reliant action
People
chooseto
participate
in a
structured
process
with
rewards ...
What to do?
Towards more sustainable livelihoods & financial services for the poor
How does SaveAct support enterprise
development
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Participatory value chain assessments with more mature
groups to decide on commodity focus areas
Set up Commodity Interest Groups (CIGs)
Start up business training for commodities of interest
for participants (Isiqalo)
Improved systems throughjoint discussion and action in
•Input supply –bulk buying,access, transport,types of input....
•Production efficiency; farmer innovation and experimentation,
training and mentoring support
•Marketing; support for joint activities around local marketing
PVCA: participatory value chain
assessment
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
❖Helps to prioritize commodities of interest for the area based on criteria developed
by participants. Includes local ‘’market assessment”
❖People interested in business start up training chosen from these groups –
members belong to a number of local SCGS
Commodity Interest Groups
(CIGs)
❖CIGS set up in Matatielefor potatoes, vegetables,
maize, sheep, cattle and pigs
❖
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Sthathi.
Khubetsoana,
Mpharane,
Moyaneng
Thinana/Ghobo
Khubetsonana,
Mpharane,
Moyaneng
Thafa,
Mehloloaneng,
Nchodu, Hebron
Lubisini
Conservation
Agriculture
CIGs
Scaling out with CIGs
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Farmer Centre –
Pontsheng; inputs,advice,
access to tolls for sharing,
hiring etc
Sekhutlong
-CIG
-CA learning group
-5 new farmer based trials
Mapheng
-CIG
-CA learning group
- 2-3 farmer based trials
Pontsheng
-CIG
-CA learning group
-7 CA farmer mentors 2ndary level
experimentation
- 35 Farmer participants linked to farmer
mentors
Nkau
-CIG
-CA learning group
-CA farmer mentor with 5
farmer volunteers
Inputs supply and access
❖Bulk buying; vegetable seedlings, potato
seed, poultry inputs
❖Potatoes - >300bags
❖Seedlings - ~25 000 (Jan-April 2014)
❖Poultry (chicks plus inputs)- 300
❖Livestock feed –4 bags
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
# People
Bulk Buying Participation
Seed Potato
Vegetable Seedlings
Poultry Package
Breeding Stock
Maize Package
Business start up training;Isiqalo
❖Linked to the CIGs and commodities
of interest.
❖4 day training leading into CIG
processof mentoring and production
support.
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Isiqalotraining summary (2013)MatatieleBergvilleTOTAL
Isiqalo trainee days10252 154
Improvement of current business (acc to business
plans submitted)
40 (n=69)30 70
New businesses (Acc to new business plans
submitted)
16 (n=69)31 47
Isiqalo themes per training group: Maize1
Poultry; broiler production1
Sheep; meat and wool1
Vegetable production and sheep management1
Vegetable production and poultry2
Production support
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
❖Training through local and other
specialists e.g pig production
❖Mentoring;short and practical
sessions on issues of concern in a
commodity e.g. Grading of wool
for sheep production
❖Farmer innovation;tackle a whole
production system and issues of
efficiency ,e.g. Conservation
Agriculture
❖Include stakeholders in market
chain e.g. Seed suppliers,
agribusiness (Grain Sa and
Poultry SA)
Thank you
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Marketing
❖Local marketing mainly;Joint discussions around the issues –oversupply at
certain times,developing niches,different types of crop (e.g. different
varieties of potato seed or planting different times,),joint activities such as
joining together for pensiondays.
❖New ideas –e.g. Local milling,production and supply of animal fodder –
different types- teff, lucerne
❖Some individual marketing in town, or buyers coming to them.
❖Still the best option –becomes more of an issue as production increases
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Issues and further support
requestes
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Training
32%
Input access
23%
Bulk buying
16%
Water access
9%
Credit
5%
Marketing
2%
Farming
infrastructure
2%
Follow-up on
training
2%
Satisfied with
support
9%
Further Support Requested,
Matatiele
Weather
29%
Production
factors
28%
Inputs
19%
Knowledge
13%
Market
7%
Credit
3%
Sales
1%
Current Business Issues,
Matatiele
Livelihood concerns
❖Track the complex
interactions between
multiple and diverse
livelihood activities and
their contribution
towards overall
livelihoods
❖Track increase in
production,enterprise
activities and income
through involvement in
CIGS
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
>R6 000
5% R1-R500
3%
R1001-R2000
43%
R2 001-R3000
20%
R3001-R4000
6%
R4001-R6000
3%
R501-R1000
20%
Income Distribution of CIG Members: Matatiele
N=38
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Number of People
Average Monthly Income
Income Distribution of Respondents ; Bergville
N=40
CIG Member
Non-Member
Livelihoods tracking
❖E surveys (Dooblo) –for
tracking CIGs,isiqalo and
livelihoods outcomes
❖Uploaded and analysed in
Excel
❖Individual reports with
photos and GPS points
possible.
❖Building up over time –
interview the same people
over time, increase number
of people included in
monitoring,provide
baselines through those
involved in SCGs but not in
CIGS
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
0
5
10
15
20
25
Frequency of Commodity Involvement Among
Respondents in Matatiele (N=35)
Maize
Poultry
Potato
Vegetables
Sheep
Pigs
Goats
1 commodity
43%
2 commodities
14%
3 commodities
26%
4 commodities
3%
5 commodities
11%
7 commodities
3%
No. of Agric Enterprises People Involved
in Matatiele Area
Use of SCG loans for enterprise
development
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
1 Loan
20%
2 Loans
20%
3 Loans
31%
4 Loans
6%
5 Loans
6%
6 Loans
6%
More than 8
Loans
3% No Loans
8%
# of Loans Taken, 2013
Matatiele
Agricultural
enterprises
13%,
Basic needs
9%
Education
24%
House
improvement
s
45%
Non-
agricultural
enterprise
4% Other
5%
Percentage of amount of expenditure on
different categories of loans, for loan (1)
when only Spent on one category, Matatiele
10/32
13/32
1/32
12/32
18/32
2/32
N=32
Livelihoods cont.: E survey example
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor
Question
ID
Question:
CIG involvement
Answer
50
What activities have you been involved with in your CIG
Meetings,
Learning
sessions,Implementation,
Joint action
51
Describe any new activities you have been involved in
CAtrial
52
How has your business improved since you have been
involved with the CIGs?
Inputs cheaper, Inputs easier to access
,
Production better, Knowledge
gained
53
What are your present business issues?
Weather, Knowledge, Moleson
potatoes
and insect pests
54
What further support would you like to receive?
Training on production as well as home
remedies in dealing with pests as chemicals
are expensive and difficult to follow
properly.
Livelihoods cont.
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
Ques
tion
ID
ISIQALO: Qu
estion
Answer
55
Have you received Isiqalo
business
training from SaveAct
?
Yes
56
Do you want to receive Isiqalo
business
training from SaveAct
?
57
In what year did you receive this training?
2012
58
Whatwas the theme ofyour Isiqalo
training?
Vegetables
59
Would you be interested in repeating the
training or have additionalsimilar training?
Yes
60
Did you fill in a business plan?
Yes
61
Why have you decided not to fill in a
business plan?
62
Whatwas the enterprise you filled out the
business plan for?
Vegetables
63
Have you implemented your business
plan?
No
64
Why have you not implemented your
business plan?
She
decided not to follow
through vegetables as an
enterprise. Doesn’t
see viable
enterprise as yet but thinks
maize may be it,
waiting to see
on the
performance.
65
Whathas the income been from THIS
enterprise in the last year?
R
0
66
Please rate the Isiqalo training in terms of
how helpful you found it.
4
Income from Agricultural
Enterprises -Bergville
❖Incomes a ‘slow’ to increase through involvement in AEs and CIGs due to
larger economic and structural issues of market access
Financial Services & Sustainable Livelihoods for the Poor –Yakha Impilo engcono ngokulondoloza imali!
1
16
11 1
810
2
0
5
10
15
20
# of People
Income From Maize
CIG MemberNon-Member
20 18
1 1
0
5
10
15
20
25
Do not participate
in this enterprise
R1-R200 R501-R1000
# People
Income from Poultry
CIG MemberNon-Member
15
41
19
1
0
5
10
15
20
Do not participate
in this enterprise
R0 R501-R1000
# of People
Income From Vegetables
CIG MemberNon-Member
16
21 1
17
1 11
0
10
20
# People
Income from Other
(Beans)
CIG MemberNon-Member
