Critical review of current literature and research agenda on the sustainability of savings groups in developing countries

Armande Mahabi Nabami

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 2026, vol. 20, issue 6, 1617-1642

Abstract: PurposeFacilitated savings groups (SGs) are self-managed groups whose members pool their savings and lend money to each other. Over the past three decades, they have become one of the most widespread financial inclusion models in rural areas, primarily through NGOs facilitation. Yet, early scholars such as Bouman (1995) and Schreiner (2000) warn that external intervention may threaten their long-term sustainability. This study aims to investigate the factors that make facilitated SGs sustainable.Design/methodology/approachThe study reviews the existing literature on facilitated SGs, examining the mechanisms through which NGO facilitation shapes sustainability.FindingsThe review identifies three interrelated dimensions of facilitated SGs sustainability – institutional, financial and social – and highlights the trade-offs they often face, such as inclusion versus financial performance and autonomy versus external support. These insights form the basis for a conceptual framework and point to priority areas for future research.Practical implicationsThe results underscore the need for balanced facilitation strategies that strengthen internal governance, support effective financial management and integrate social interventions without undermining core savings and lending functions.Originality/valueThe paper advances a three-part, trade-off-based framework for analysing SGs sustainability, integrating insights from microfinance, grassroots development and organizational theory.

Keywords: Performance; Sustainability; NGOs; Financial inclusion; Savings groups; Facilitating agencies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/jec/article/20/6/1617/1343 ... erature-and-research (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/jec/article-pdf/20/6/1617/ ... c-12-2024-0265en.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jecpps:jec-12-2024-0265

DOI: 10.1108/JEC-12-2024-0265

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy is currently edited by Prof Leo Dana and Andrea Caputo

More articles in Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().