FINANCIAL LITERACY INITIATIVE
Rural women in Liberia face various financial challenges that significantly impact their economic well-being. These challenges include limited access to formal financial services such as savings accounts, loans, and insurance, which restricts their ability to save, invest, or obtain credit. Many of these women engage in the informal economy, participating in small-scale agricultural activities, petty trade, or craft production, where instability and lack of security make planning for the future difficult. Furthermore, healthcare expenses and vulnerability to economic shocks, such as crop failures, can strain their financial resources. Efforts to address these challenges require comprehensive initiatives, including improving access to financial services, promoting gender equality, enhancing educational opportunities to support rural women's economic empowerment.
OUR ACTION PLAN
This program will improve livelihoods by increasing self-efficacy and building a strong foundation for creating new business opportunities. Each month the financial literacy instructor meets with the group for follow-up instruction. The business development program focuses on agricultural based business that can improve value chain outcomes. Each participant in the program will receive seed money. This money can be used as capital for a small business.
VSLA-Village Savings and Loan Group
KEY FACTS
Rural women have a smaller share of mobile phones (23%) and bank accounts (6%) than urban women, who have 61% and 16%, respectively (GoL, 2020)
Reasons for the low penetration of financial services include limited access points in rural areas, lack of required documents to open an account, limited financial capabilities of the population, limited access to electricity and weak credit infrastructure (GoL, 2020)
The 14-year crisis in Liberia that concluded in 2003 resulted in the destruction of the country's infrastructure and institutional frameworks for accessing financial services.
OUR PLAN IN ACTION: PENGAI VILLAGE
A small grant from Friends of Liberia and private donations helped us to make this project viable. We appreciate all of the support that we have received and we look forward to the positive outcomes from this innovative initiative.
This initiative increased the number of children attending school by 30%, and women from the village were able to start small businesses. Participation in the weekly VSLA meetings improved confidence in handling finances. Additionally, the program increased the women’s financial security by giving them the ability to borrow funds for emergencies such as Funeral expenses. The women in the village are continuing with the VSLA on their own.
