Without access to banking services, refugees and people trapped in material poverty don’t have a way to access affordable credit or a safe place to save for lump sum expenses like school fees and medical care. Often, their only options are to borrow from a relative, friend, or loan shark at exorbitant rates or to be forced to sell an income-generating asset. Broken systems force many of these families to struggle to survive rather than thrive, and as a result, they lack the opportunity to overcome poverty.

Before Christine joined a Seed Effect group, this was her story. In order to put her six children in school and take them to the doctor, she had to borrow money from a loan shark or relative. But after joining Seed Effect, Christine had access to a safe place to save and to small interest-bearing loans (paid back to the group) that she used to improve her home, pay school fees, and grow her business. At the end of her two Seed Effect savings and loan cycles, Christine’s profit payout (this includes her savings and interest earned) was 216,000 UGX and 523,700 UGX respectively.

Now that she has access to better and more reliable financial tools through Seed Effect, when Christine needs to pay school fees or take her children to the doctor, she uses her savings or her business income.