Angola

Saving groups and small businesses

Literacy and civic skills teaching and financial management training has been organized in the project.
The main target of the project is to establish saving groups and support group members. About 80 percent of the saving group members are women, especially single parents and uneducated young women. The baseline mapping of the project was done in 2011, when the staff was trained and 19 villages were selected for the project. Actions for the establishment of the savings and loan groups began in early 2012.

During the income acquisition projects, mills were being built and cultivations started: cassava, corn, bean and banana fields, and vegetable gardens. In addition, restaurants, small shops and canteens were established.

Women have learned to read and know their rights, both as citizens and as members of a community and a family. Women’s self-esteem has improved and they actively participate in their families’ decision making and in the improvement of their communities. Standards of living for the women and their families have also improved because of the income generating actions.