DSG Study Brief Rethinking Key Roles Page 1
Research
Digital Inclusion Digital Transformation Digitization Planning Evidence & Impact Gender Human Resources Project Implementation

Digital Savings Groups: Rethinking Key Roles

Published by
2020
Project Concern International, a Global Communities Partner
View Resource

This document is one of three research briefs that highlight key insights from a study of digital savings groups (DSGs) conducted in rural Tanzania from August 2019 through February 2020. The research was conducted by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) working with savings groups supported by PCI and their Women Empowered (WE) program. The study followed two sets of WE savings groups that used the DreamSave app from DreamStart Labs. The first set of groups were mature savings groups that had been recording transactions on paper for multiple years, then switched to DreamSave (“Paper-to-Digital”). The second set of groups learned the savings group model using the app from the beginning (“Born Digital”).

This brief highlights the need to rethink a few key roles on the project team and within groups to ensure every member is comfortable and confident with digitization as they gradually increase their digital literacy. Specifically, the brief explores the roles of digital trainers, community digital champions, and note keepers.

Leave a Reply

View all comments

Related Resources

Read
article
Digital Inclusion Digital Payments Digital Recordkeeping Digital Transformation
Next Billion Cover image
article
Digital Inclusion Digital Payments Digital Recordkeeping Digital Transformation

Reaching Informal Savings Groups with Formal Financial Products: A Study’s Unexpected Findings Reveal the Challenges of Digitizing Transactions

By Raksha Vasudevan
NextBillion
2022

Reaching Informal Savings Groups with Formal Financial Products: A Study’s Unexpected Findings Reveal the Challenges of Digitizing Transactions

This article discusses the main findings from a qualitative assessment of Savings at the Frontier (SatF) projects in Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia, implemented in 2015-2022 and funded by the Mastercard Foundation. The program sought to bridge the gap between formal financial services and informal savings groups, enabling members to access the financial services that best […]
Read
Brief
Digital Inclusion Digitization Planning Digitization Risks & Barriers Gender
Brief
Digital Inclusion Digitization Planning Digitization Risks & Barriers Gender

Digitalization & Gender Norms: Learnings from CARE’s Digital Pilot for VSLA Members in Rwanda & Uganda

By Eric Kaduru
CARE
2025

Digitalization & Gender Norms: Learnings from CARE’s Digital Pilot for VSLA Members in Rwanda & Uganda

Insights from CARE’s digital pilot with 100 VSLA groups in Rwanda and Uganda reveal how social norms limit women’s digital access—and what it takes to design safer, more inclusive digitalization efforts.