Handful of rice : savings mobilization by micro-enterprise programs and perspectives for the future

It highlights the main issue related to savings mobilization; presents several examples of savings schemes in microenterprise programs, including the Grameen Bank and ACCION; provides a rationale for engaging in savings mobilization among low-income populations; and suggests guidelines for structuring a savings component in microenterprise assistance programs. The author suggests that it is difficult to determine whether women behave differently in the area of savings. A general conclusion is that since savings in microenterprise programs have increased at the same time that the percentage of women participants has grown, women demonstrate a significant propensity to save. this propensity appears to be determined more by the structure of the savings than by the gender of the depositor. (Author abstract, from PN-ABN-639)