Economic Development
CARE's economic development programs support women and their families by supporting money making activities, such as village savings and loan associations. The associations encourage communities to self-manage their financial savings and loan programs.
Today, most Africans – well over 50 percent – live on less than $2 a day. For most, there is little or no access to basic financial services. CARE launched our first microfinance program in Niger in 1991 to address this need.
Tradition provides key to a better future
Women have long been at the heart of Africa’s informal savings cooperatives – among the world’s oldest and most prevalent savings methods. These associations form the foundation for CARE’s pioneering approach to microfinance. They are sustainable and self-funded, built by members through their own savings.As members of saving and loan associations, women receive training, benefit from group solidarity, earn their own income and invest in what matters most to them: their families. The result is enhanced self-esteem, greater participation in public life, better nutrition, health and education for children, and new dynamics in their relationships with men.
Feature projects:
Access Africa
With 17 years of experience, CARE launched Access Africa in 2008. Over the next decade, Access Africa will provide basic financial services for 30 million of Africa’s poorest people – at least 70 percent of whom will be women – in 39 countries across Africa. Learn more about Access Africa.
Literacy and Livelihoods Empowering Adolescents for Development initiative (LEAD)
LEAD is a recent CARE project that targeted the needs of marginalized youth in Koh Kong by providing a basic education, including literacy, life skills, apprenticeships and business opportunities. Learn more about the project
Improved livelihoods for vulnerable Afghans
While Afghanistan has made progress since the fall of the Taliban, women are still struggling to see their rights fulfilled. CARE Canada, in partnership with the Canadian International Development Agency and CARE Afghanistan, is working to improve income and social participation of women and vulnerable youth in the country. Learn more about the project
What Works for Women was developed by Hunger Alliance in the UK in conjunction with CARE and other partners.
The report draws on evidence from various programmes, and provides analysis and recommendations for various actors to increase targeted attention to the gender dimension of food production.
