 |
 Send your case studies here! |
Country Facts
|
Population (millions) |
20.1 |
|
Gross domestic savings (% of GDP) |
6.5% |
|
% Population under $2/day (PPP) |
79% |
|
Regulated microfinance institutions |
Agricultural development bank, rural and community banks (RCBs), savings and loan companies, credit unions |
|
Non-regulated sources of microfinance |
Non-governmental and community-based organizations, donor programs, government credit programs, and informal finance |
|
Predominant informal finance mechanisms (ROSCAs, tontines, etc.) |
Susu collectors/susu clubs, moneylenders, ROSCAs, ASCAs, supplier credit |
» More country data from the Microfinance Information Exchange Market
General Approach to Regulating
Based on the Comparative Database on Microfinance Regulation by the IRIS Center of the University of Maryland| Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) | NBFIs (deposit-taking): Savings and Loan companies | Credit Unions | NGO-MFIs | |
| Definition or description of institution | Unit banks licensed to offer financial services in rural areas, RCBs are owned by shareholding members of the rural community |
Privately-owned companies that mobilize savings from households and small businesses, lend to micro, small, and medium enterprises, and provide consumer credit |
Cooperative/mutually owned organizations formed by groups to mobilize savings and make loans |
Non-member, not-for-profit organizations that provide charitable services - which may include financial services and humanitarian services - to poor citizens |
|
Guidelines & restrictions on financial services |
Permitted: public deposit-taking, fixed, term, and time deposits, loans, purchase of local currency checks and drafts, checking accounts, money transfers, investment in treasury bills, insurance (if commissioned as an agent) Prohibited: foreign exchange operations, commercial, industrial, or agricultural activities, purchase or lease of immovable property |
PPermitted: public deposit-taking, fixed, term, and time deposits, loans, purchase of local currency checks and drafts, intra-institutional check-cashing, guarantees, acceptances, and endorsements with BoG permission Prohibited: regular checking accounts, gambling, speculation, "undesirable" activity |
Permitted: savings, loans and credit insurance to members only Prohibited: financial services to non-members unless expressly permitted in CU bylaws or regulations, loans for greater than 12-month periods unless permission is granted by licensing authority |
Permitted: loans Prohibited: Deposit-taking |
» Download Country Profile of Microfinance Regulation
Credit with Education programme (Freedom for Hunger and a rural bank)
By Francis Beinpuo
This paper presents the environment for financial intermediation in Ghana and presents the case of the successful partnership between Freedom from Hunger (NGO) and a rural bank. The author argues that several attempts to provide credit to self-help groups have been implemented, but the Credit with Education methodology has been the most successful intervention so far.
Key ideas presented by the author in this paper are:
- Rural banking in Ghana has failed to reach its full potential, but linking with NGOs and adopting their methodologies allows them to reach out to a good mass of clients.
- Credit with Education methodology allows the banks to mobilize savings from a large pool of people
- The program has seen an impressive growth of savings balances of above 15% of loan holdings.
- In only three years the program was able to cover full operating costs and it is expected that it will become a major earner for the bank.
- The challenges faced are related to having enough loan funds and a credible methodology for intermediation.
Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank of Ghana: the benefits of mobile collection
In 1999, the Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank of Ghana introduced a traditional mobile collection savings product. By 2002, the bank's deposits had grown from $639,000 to $3.7 million and the number of accounts had doubled to 44,423. Half of the new depositors and over a fifth of the new deposits were accounted for solely by the susu product. This one-page case describes the changes and challenges posed by this new service.
This case study can be found in Savings Operations for the Poor: An Operational Guide, edited by Madeline Hirschland, forthcoming from Kumarian Press (1294 Blue Hills Avenue, Bloomfield, CT 06002).
Citi Savings And Loan Company Ltd., Ghana: Working Through Susus To Reach Thousands Of Savers
Summarized from: "The Microfinance Experience with Savings Mobilization", 2000.
By: Jacqueline Bass and Katrina Henderson
Citi Savings and Loan Company is a savings-led institution that provides savings and loan services to microentrepreneurs in
Citi currently provides financial services to 15 susu clubs that meet at a regularly scheduled time and place throughout the 100-week cycle. The club, which usually has between 200 and 800 members for each cycle, saves between US$40,000 and US$800,000 per cycle. The accumulated savings are held on behalf of members and paid out to them over the 100-week cycle from each week's collection. Women typically join the clubs because they can gain access to the full amount of their weekly deposits before the end of the cycle.
Womens World Banking Ghana, Citi Savings & Loans Company and Ajumako Enyan Essem District Teachers Credit Unions
The role and impact of savings mobilization in
By Gilles GOLDSTEIN and Issa BARRO
This study was undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme and the British Department for Development Co-operation to collaborate in the promotion of savings services for poor people in Africa through "MicroSave -
See also:
Group Intermediation in Ghana. The Credit with Education Programme, 2004, Beinpuo, F.
Microfinance in Africa: Experiance and lessons from Selected African Countries, 2004, by Basu, A., Blavu, R.& Yulek, M.
Savings Collectors and Financial Intermediation in Ghana, 1994, Aryeetey and Steel