Credit with Education

Credit with Education builds on the village banking methodology by integrating financial services (such as credit and savings) and dialogue-based adult education. This section contains detailed descriptions of Credit with Education, documented impacts and products to help organizations implement this proven integrated service model.

Credit with Education: A Self-Financing Way to Fight Chronic Hunger and Poverty

This paper describes Freedom from Hunger’s Credit with Education model for delivering integrated services to the poor. It reviews evidence of impact (both for clients and organizations), the credit and education components and the role of the field agent.

A Brief Description of Credit with Education: A Self-Financing Way to Fight Chronic Hunger and Poverty

This is the brief version of the full paper, Credit with Education: A Self-Financing Way to Fight Chronic Hunger and Poverty. It highlights Credit with Education’s focus on women, education component, and impact on financial sustainability.

Overview of Freedom from Hunger’s Practitioner Guides for Effective Management of Credit with Education Services

Freedom from Hunger has developed a series of practitioner guides on specific topics related to effective management of Credit with Education services – specifically, Supervision, Internal Controls, Adapting the Monitoring and Reporting System, Incentive Systems and Integration. While the guides are tailored for credit union networks offering Credit with Education, and have been tested in several West African countries, they can be adapted to other institutional and regional contexts. This overview describes the guides’ components and provides a summary of each guide.

Credit with Education Field Agent Operations Manual

As the anchor of Freedom from Hunger's Credit with Education Series, this manual serves as a handbook for field agents of organizations offering Credit with Education. It is packed with tools to help field agents organize Credit Associations and provide them with financial and education services. Chapter topics include start-up, promotion, field agent training, learning sessions on health and nutrition, lesson planning, building client self-confidence, facilitation tools, and monitoring and reporting systems. As with the entire Credit with Education Series, this manual and the tools within it are adaptable to the context of the implementing organization. (Also for sale by Pact Publications. Price $27.00)

The Credit with Education Learning Game

As part of Freedom from Hunger's Credit with Education Series, this manual guides coordinators, field agents and other staff through a four-hour simulation of key events in the promotion, organization, training and implementation of a Credit Association. With the guidance of a trainer, staff implements the Learning Game with potential clients of Credit with Education. In the process, they learn how a Credit Association is started, how it functions, and how to interact with Credit Association members. The manual provides necessary instructions to prepare for and implement the Learning Game, including role-plays, stories and example forms. As with the entire Credit with Education Series, this manual and the tools within it are adaptable to the context of the implementing organization. (Also for sale by Pact Publications. Price: $18.00)

The Credit with Education Learning Game (Condensed Version)

Similar to the full-length (4 hour) Credit with Education Learning Game, the condensed version (2 to 3 hour) guides coordinators, field agents and other staff through a simulation of key events in the promotion, organization, training and implementation of a Credit Association. Distinct from the full-length version, in which staff play the role of field agents and implement the Learning Game with real potential clients, the condensed version has a trainer play the role of field agent while staff play the role of potential clients. In this way, staff learn how a Credit Association is started, how it functions, and how to interact with Credit Association members. The condensed version is appropriate when time and resources for training are limited. This manual provides necessary instructions to prepare for and implement the game, including role-plays, stories and example forms. As with the entire Credit with Education Series, this manual and the tools within it are adaptable to the context of the implementing organization.

Credit with Education Credit Association Training Manual

As part of Freedom from Hunger's Credit with Education Series, this manual guides field agents through a series of training meetings to assist new members in forming a Credit Association and preparing themselves to manage financial services and new information to improve their lives. The meetings help group members organize their ideas and come to consensus on Credit Association management, introduce concepts and rules of group-based lending and the importance of savings, and discuss the education component of Credit with Education. The training meetings are also an excellent opportunity for field agents to establish their role as facilitator and to begin the empowerment process. This manual provides all necessary instructions, activities and tools, that are adaptable to the context of the implementing organization. (Also for sale by Pact Publications. Price: $23.00.)

Credit with Education & Credit Unions Strategic Planning Guidelines

This guide is intended for use with its companion piece, Credit with Education and Credit Unions: Technical Assistance Guide. If a technical assistance provider is not involved, these guidelines can be used as a stand-alone implementation tool for credit union managers and other users. This guide enables a quick assessment of credit union capacity and interest in developing a new group-based microfinance service: Credit with Education. In addition, it provides a step-by-step guide through the critical strategic decisions credit unions must make to develop and integrate Credit with Education. (Also for sale by Pact Publications. Price: $18.00.)

Credit with Education & Credit Unions Technical Assistance Guide

This guide is intended for use with its companion piece, Credit with Education and Credit Unions: Strategic Planning Guidelines. It is for technical assistance providers considering credit unions as an institutional vehicle to expand group-based financial services to the very poor. The Guide captures Freedom from Hunger's learning about strategic issues to be addressed as well as information to be gathered when considering the introduction of the Credit with Education product into a credit union's portfolio of services. It is to be used as a planning tool, guiding the user through various strategic themes. The Guide will help the user assess the institutional readiness for the new product, decide whether to work directly with individual credit unions or federations and help determine how to effectively introduce the new product opportunity. (Also for sale by Pact Publications. Price: $18.00)

Credit with Education Status Reports