Background – Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world.  Major obstacles to economic development include the adverse climatic conditions (about two-thirds of the country is desert) and severe health risks (AIDS, malaria, hepatitis, etc.).  Unemployment and under-employment are commonplace, and more than half of the population is illiterate.   The distribution of wealth is acutely uneven, with over 70% of the population having to survive on less than one US dollar per day.  Many smallholders, craftspeople, and tradespeople are merely treading water because they have no access to credit which would enable them to develop their businesses, invest in productivity, or transport their products to where they would attract the best price.  Microcredits can provide an opportunity to break out of this vicious circle of poverty.  

Project – In Kenya, Swisscontact has successfully developed a system of savings and credit groups.  These groups save together and, drawing from the group assets, allocate loans to their members.  Regular deposits and interest from loans increase the shared wealth and, in turn, the number and size of potential loans.  Because group members are from the same community, there is significant social pressure to repay the loan – cases where members fail to pay back the loans are close to disappearing entirely.  The Kenyan savings and credit groups are known as “Mavuno” Groups, after the Swahili word for harvest.
Bambara is the language spoken in the Malian region of Sikasso. The term “WASSA” stands for “fulfillment through saving” and is also the name of the savings and credit group supported by Swisscontact, based on the Kenyan model.  The Hirschmann Foundation finances the project set up, while the pool of capital is contributed by the group members.  Under guidance from Swisscontact, members create their statutes, determine their savings goals, and learn how to keep their financial records.  The loans principally benefit young, qualified graduates of vocational training programs who are then able to build their own small businesses.  The project is closely linked to Swisscontact’s activities for the promotion of vocational training and local economic development in Mali.  By the end of 2012, there are going to be 130 WASSA groups, enabling their members to access new sources of income and escape poverty through their own efforts.