Savings Groups and Consumer Protection: How Savings Groups Responded to Insecurity and Theft in Madagascar

For millions of financially excluded individuals worldwide, Savings Groups offer the opportunity to save and borrow small amounts of cash in a convenient, accessible and generally safe manner. But a recent risk assessment of Savings Groups in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Rwanda and Tanzania, estimated that, in the first four years of operations, six percent of groups experience at least one theft.

Against this backdrop, in 2019 Catholic Relief Services examined the impact of theft and insecurity on Savings Groups in three regions of Madagascar to identify how Savings Groups, communities, trainers and law enforcement officials have responded. This case study examines the experiences of these groups, trainers, and law enforcement officials, to draw strategic lessons for future programming in insecure contexts.