The PROFIFA project builds on the past intervention AFR implemented with CARE International of training 8,000 saving groups (SGs) (approximately 172,000 low-income people) on basic financial education and business skills to help them fulfil their financial need (savings and borrowing) informally.

After three years of implementation, there was a need to link the SGs to the formal sector to allow them use formal financial services and products and benefit from the linkages by having a remunerate savings account, accessing bigger loans (than what they normally get in their groups) etc., thus expand their agriculture business and consequently increase their revenues. The project aims at demonstrating a sustainable linkage model where SG members’ incomes rise as a result of being linked to a financial institution.

The vast majority (80-90%) of SG members are involved in agriculture activities; therefore, they were trained in agriculture best practices to increase the quality and quantity of their harvest and sell the produce to the market for a higher income. At the same time, AFR partnered with four financial institutions to provide appropriate agriculture financial products to the groups to facilitate their linkages.