Marie Michael Library

Savings in the context of microfinance: state of knowledge

Fiebig, Michael; Hanning, Alfred; Wisniwski, Sylvia

Savings mobilization has only recently been recognized as a major force in microfinance; in the past, microfinance focused almost exclusively on credit. It is now generally acknowledged that households will deposit their surplus capital in financial institutions if the institutions are appropriately structured and offer the clients savings products that meet their specific needs. If demand-oriented deposit facilities are embedded in appropriate institutional settings, they may achieve a level of outreach and impact that credit-only facilities cannot achieve.