Self-help groups provide an efficient platform for delivering financial services and dialogue-based adult education to poor, remote areas with little or no microfinance infrastructure.  The self-help group delivery model is distinct because it can be used by informal implementing organizations, such as community-development groups, to address financial needs as well as other development objectives; it does not require external loan capital since it is savings-led; it offers a familiar environment to clients since it mimics traditional group structures; and it provides education services adapted for very low literacy levels of both clients and field staff.  For instance, Learning Conversations engage self-help group members in productive discussions on critical health and business topics by drawing on latent knowledge of the group rather than introducing external technical information.  As a result, Learning Conversations can be led either by field staff or group members themselves. 

Self-help groups can help the poor

• accumulate savings;

• access loans from within their own community;

• draw on knowledge in the community;

• increase human, social and financial assets for themselves, their families and their communities;

• improve management of scarce household resources; and

• reduce risk and vulnerability to health and economic shocks.

Self-help groups can help implementing organizations

• form and support groups to engage in a wide variety of development activities;

• develop the capacity of new clients to access more formal financial services;

• provide a self-replicating group structure that can be linked to third parties who provide financial and non-financial services; and

• overcome institutional obstacles to extend outreach of services to new un- or under-served segments of the market.

Self-help groups are an important area of innovation among a number of Freedom from Hunger’s partners.  We are currently collaborating with Oxfam America in Mali and Catholic Relief Services in India to develop Learning Conversations that address malaria, HIV/AIDS and other critical topics for use by self-help groups.  Also in collaboration with Oxfam, we are developing a series of training materials that address group formation, training and supervision.  Finally, we are a member of the SEEP Village Savings and Loan working group, which is developing a set of self-help group reporting and benchmarking standards.