GOOD PRACTICE: Linking Business Facilitation with savings groups and financial service providers. World Vision: Somalia

Good Practice - Linking Business Facilitation with savings groups and financial service providers

Brief summary

For the first time, a business coaching intervention in the form of Business Facilitation (BF) is implemented in a fragile context and a highly informal economy. In addition to empowering beneficiaries in opening their own businesses, World Vision has trained the BF groups in the formation of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and further created linkages to formal financial service providers like banks. Hence, beneficiaries were able to open bank accounts with local banks. 60 of the BF graduates were even able to access loans from Amal bank, which they use to expand and diversify their businesses. This has helped to integrate them better into a more formal economy and to improve their understanding of available capital and business improvement.

Key Areas of Good Practice

• Community based savings and credit schemes (3.5)
• Providing support to informal economy operators/workers to access services (social protection services, business registration, access to formal savings and credit schemes, training, etc.) (3.1)
• Entrepreneurialism and business management training (3.2)
• Enabling especially vulnerable groups on economic empowerment (women, people with disabilities, affected by HIV, youth, refugees, migrants, minority groups, etc.) (4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.11)