Impact Stories

Western Kenya VSLA Strengthening • Read Full Report ↗

From savings groups to stronger rural economies

How community-based savings groups strengthened financial inclusion, agricultural livelihoods, market participation and household resilience across Western Kenya.

200 VSLAs 5 counties 4,890 members 78% women
Partners USAID Feed the Future USAID RTI International
The impact story

Building stronger foundations for rural enterprise

Through the USAID Feed the Future Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems activity, LACOMP supported Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to strengthen financial management, agricultural investment, enterprise development and market linkages.

200 VSLAs supported
4,890 Members reached
78% Women members
KES 33.27M Savings mobilised
KES 31.6M Internal loans
What changed

From savings to productive livelihoods

The intervention connected community finance with enterprise, agricultural production and stronger local market systems.

Stronger institutions

VSLAs improved governance, record keeping, savings mobilisation, financial management and linkages with formal financial institutions.

Finance & enterprise

Savings and internal lending enabled members to invest in agriculture, livestock, small enterprises and household resilience.

Markets & BDS

Groups gained access to business development support, market actors, aggregation opportunities and structured commercial relationships.

Food systems & inclusive growth

Finance translating into food and agricultural outcomes

Savings-based finance supported productive investment while strengthening household food availability, commercialization and resilience.

Agricultural production

3,440 members directly invested in agricultural production, expanding the agricultural loan portfolio by KES 5.3M. Investments included certified seeds, fertilizers and feeds, supporting improved household food availability.

Agri-food markets

Priority enterprises included dairy, poultry, horticulture and sweet potatoes, while 3,700 members were linked to structured markets and aggregation, generating KES 2.5M in commodity sales.

Women

Women represented 78% of members, strengthening economic participation, financial control and household decision-making.

Climate resilience

Diversified enterprise investments and flexible financial mechanisms helped groups respond to rain-fed production risks.

Digital inclusion

DreamSave supported digital financial management across 74 VSLAs.

Local services

Community Chama Agents strengthened linkages between producers, input suppliers and commercial market actors.

Market systems

Connecting rural producers to stronger markets

Market linkages helped move VSLAs beyond savings and lending toward commercially oriented agricultural activity.

KES 2.5M

Commodity sales

Sales generated through structured market linkages and aggregation, supporting commercialization and more reliable rural incomes.

Input linkages

Smallholders were connected with input stockists and service providers to improve access to agricultural inputs.

Commercial off-takers

Market relationships created opportunities for aggregation and connection to commercial buyers.

Community-based services

Fee-for-Service Community Chama Agents helped sustain local business development and market support services.

Enterprise diversification

Members diversified into agriculture and other income-generating activities, strengthening rural economic resilience.

People behind the numbers

Local stories of change

Kisumu

Mama Risper

A VSLA member who used community finance and enterprise opportunities to strengthen household livelihoods and agricultural activity.

Siaya

Oritore Women Group

A women-led group demonstrating how collective savings, lending and enterprise development can strengthen local economic participation.

Kisii

Daudi Matara

A member whose experience illustrates how community finance can support productive investment and stronger rural livelihoods.

Finance & digital inclusion

Connecting community finance with formal systems

KES 5.9M

External credit

External financing was accessed through Juhudi Kilimo, KCB, Equity and local SACCOs, helping expand the resources available for productive investment.

74

VSLAs using DreamSave

Digital financial management supported improved record keeping, transparency and access to financial information.

Lessons

What the experience shows

Digital adoption

Digital tools can strengthen transparency and financial management when introduced alongside practical capacity building.

Climate resilience

Diversification and flexible financial mechanisms are important for rural households facing climate-related production shocks.

Youth inclusion

Future market systems need stronger pathways for rural youth to participate in productive enterprises and local economies.

Read Full Report ↗

Source: LACOMP — USAID/KCDMS VSLA Strengthening Final Report.

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