Building financial inclusion

The Masopo Women’s Club, based in Choma district in Southern province in Zambia, had very little in the way of secure or diversified income. The Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) therefore provided training and support to the club to engage with new opportunities and markets.

Their experiences demonstrate how rural women can successfully take the lead in financial inclusion, sustainable enterprise development and forest management when supported with the right capacities and investments.

Forest and Farm Facility activities

In 2020, the Masopo Women’s Club established a savings and loans group with an initial capital of US$77. With support from FFF, over the next five years the club’s income generating activities grew its capital base to $540, even after reinvesting $25 in basket-making materials. The investment in basket weaving has allowed the group to generate $140 in profit from basket sales and establish a community basket-bulking centre for sales.

Since 2021, FFF support has also allowed the group to expand its business portfolio by operating two mobile money booths, one in Gumba and another at the Daniel Munkombwe Toll Gate. Profits from these money booths are shared annually among members and reinvested in their savings groups and in household and productive assets, including school fees, livestock, and orchards of guava, oranges and bull-gam trees, strengthening food security and long-term income streams.

Significance of impact

These financial service developments have led to transformative changes in women’s leadership and financial confidence. Mobile money services previously dominated by men are now fully managed by women, who independently handle transactions, teach others safe digital finance practices, and deposit group savings using mobile banking platforms.

The club has further established a community social fund that provides chitenge cloth (a vibrant, versatile, cotton wax-print fabric deeply rooted in Zambian culture) and soap to elderly people and young mothers, reinforcing social cohesion and community trust.

Members report that these core financial services have resulted in marked improvements in financial literacy, planning and savings discipline, shifting from impulsive spending to strategic investment.

Conclusion

With FFF support, the Masopo Women’s Club has combined forest-based enterprises, basket weaving, mobile money services and advocacy to strengthen women’s incomes, secure land and forest resources, and enhance women’s participation in local decision-making processes.

Women have been central to the planning and implementation of this work, transforming both household livelihoods and community perceptions of women’s leadership.

Building financial inclusion

Forest and Farm Facility activities

Significance of impact

Conclusion

Further reading