Do rural Ugandans save?
Kristalsky: A 2005 Rural SPEED study showed that 81% of people in rural Uganda save, but only 13% of them save with a formal financial institution. People lack access to formal financial institutions and also tend to be wary of them. Many Ugandans hide cash at home. Given the dramatic floods that occur in the country and wipe out homes, it is quite likely that there are millions of Ugandan Shillings drifting down the Nile. SIRC: How is Rural SPEED trying to deepen and strengthen Uganda’s savings offer? Kristalsky: Savings options for poor people in Uganda’s rural areas are very limited. Community-managed financial institutions are often the only savings options accessible to the rural poor, besides informal organizations. Rural SPEED faces two challenges: first, people are unaware of the benefits of saving in a secure institution, and second community-managed savings structures are inconsistently safe and professional. This is why we have a two-pronged approach: • On the one hand, we p
