An assessment on the economic impact of internal savings and leadings as a development strategy for rural communities in Zimbabwe: the case of Ward 16 in Insiza North District
The purpose of this study was to assess the economic impacts of internal Savings and Lendings (ISALs) project as a development strategy on the intended beneficiaries of Insiza District in Zimbabwe. Objectives of the study were to establish the effect of ISALs on the household incomes of the intended beneficiaries; to determine the factors influencing the level of ISALs participation of the beneficiaries in the activities and to determine whether ISALs have had an effect on investments through Income Generating Activities (IGAs) of the intended beneficiaries. Beneficiaries needed to sustain themselves after the MSFLSP project had ended which was mainly a five-year livelihood project. Zimbabwe project Trust (ZimPro) therefore developed its community-based savings-led initiatives known as ISALs to reach a large group of extremely vulnerable poor people with limited savings and borrowing capacity, especially women in rural communities. Furthermore, the study adopted the Sustainable Livelihood approach as its analytical framework as this framework places the poor in the centre of analysis and ascertains the extent to which interventions recognize people’s livelihood as a basis for action and whether priorities of the target group are linked to the design and scope of the interventions. The study population for this study comprised of sixteen (16) members in the Matabeleland South Food and Livelihoods Security Project (MSFLSP). The sample studied was purposively selected to include people who were involved in the ISALs project. Prior authority was from the area district commissioner, police, and ZimPro. A mixed methodology approach was used in data collection and a case study survey was the research design was used. Data was collected using the focus group discussions and questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive techniques and SPSS package was also utilized. The findings were presented in tables, charts and columns which were followed by brief explanations of the same findings, were then interpreted and recommendations made as well as suggestions for further studies. Results from this study indicated that the ISALs interventions was actually effective in that it improved the household incomes of the beneficiaries. Providing for the young ones in terms of education and access to health facilities was also found to be effected by the ISALs intervention as savings and lendings were used for the purpose with 87.5% utilizing the funds on that. The study also found out that the quality of knowledge and flexibility of policies on ISALs by beneficiaries contributed to their increased levels of participation indicating that those perceived to be poor needed to be educated on the importance of pulling together and not necessarily rely on outside help. Culture and tradition were found to be limiting factors for the few non participants as they opted to look for finances elsewhere and consume the little they had
