WeSave

Full participation of women and girls can be achieved by increased financial inclusion and women empowerment. Using the weSave Application to create Savings Groups among women from different backgrounds not only makes saving easier, but also offers a more convenient, safer and more transparent method.

Women in Technology Uganda has trained over 600 girls from underserved backgrounds in Entrepreneurial skills, leading to the start of over 50 small businesses in the last three(3) years. This has improved their lives, as they can now contribute to their household income, giving them a say in the decisions made at home. However, saving for business growth and future investment is still a challenge. The ladies save their money in either piggy banks or on their Mobile Money accounts. They are reluctant to open bank accounts, either because they cannot easily access banks in their communities or they do not want to incur bank charges. Their methods of money saving right are not sustainable as they can access the money easily and spend it right away.

According to a three-country study, conducted in Ghana, Uganda and Malawi, released in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Savings Groups empower women, increase business investment, and provide greater access to financial services. As much as Savings Groups are helpful in local communities, they are susceptible to theft by the leaders that are not easily trusted. Women in Technology Uganda plans to create an application that will make creation and administration of Savings Groups easier. Through the weSave Web and Mobile app, users can create groups of up to 10 women to save with jointly. After agreeing on the amount to save, they can make deposits from their mobile money accounts using USSD. These enable the ladies to be accountable to each other, encouraging each one to be able to send in their weekly savings through the app’s notification service.

The weSave application can be scaled to be used in any part of the world as Savings Groups can be created anywhere in the world creating a group of empowered through technology.

Having trained over 600 young women in Business and Entrepreneurship skills over the last three years and local research, we discovered that very few young women save money through banks greatly contributing to poor saving habits among them. They are reluctant to open bank accounts, either because they cannot easily access banks in their communities or they do not want to incur bank charges. The ladies save their money in piggy banks and Mobile Money accounts. Their methods of money saving are very volatile, and susceptible to theft as they can access the money easily and spend it right away.

From the women and girls trained at WITU and according to a three-country study, Savings Groups empower women, increase business investment, and provide greater access to financial services. Creating groups of 5 – 10 women on the weSave app eases saving from their mobile money accounts, enhances accountability as notifications are given when a member fulfills their agreed amount to be saved and helps the women to grow financially through the business skills they acquire as members. In the long run, a generation of financially empowered women will be created.

The weSave application will target women from women in both the rural and urban parts of Uganda in the pilot phase. The application will impact these women to join savings groups, be accountable to their group members in terms of savings and in the long run create financial stability and easy access to financial resources. After training workshops introducing the application, the women will be able to download the application from the Google Play store onto their Android devices. The women who cannot access smart phones will be able to register on the computers at the training workshops.

Check Registry of the Savings Groups - At least 30 Savings Groups created on the application

Track the members savings in the application - 150 Women saving a particular amount per week in the pilot

Track the number of women receiving financial resources for their businesses - Start new and improve already existing businesses

Currently, Saving Groups have paper administration - records are kept on paper, money could be or not be saved in the bank by the trusted treasurer and members cannot easily track the saving done by their fellow group members. The weSave application gives Savings Group a new twist using technology, thus making administration easy, convenient and transparent. The members are accountable to each other as notifications are sent when group members make deposits. Group members can also save money conveniently through making payments online, without having to first congregate in one location.

The weSave application will be available for free download on the Google Play store. The communities we are targeting are of women that can access smart phones and know how to use them. They will therefore be able to use the application. Training workshops will be carried out in the local communities to train the ladies how to use the application effectively. They can then go on to train their fellow women.

The weSave application is one of the Research and Development Projects under Women in Technology Uganda. The application can therefore be funded up to a certain level into piloting; where then through registrations, interest accrued from loans and investments - it will be sustainable

Trust. The women will need to have trust in Women in Technology Uganda as able to run the administration of their savings. We have gained trust from the local communities through the trainings we have offered these women in the past. Without this trust, the solution will not have users and won't succeed.

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Savings Groups empower women, increase business investment, and provide greater access to financial services. Making savings groups more transparent, more accessible to everyone and very convenient using technology through the weSave application will go a long way in empowering more women to become financially stable and change-makers in their local communities. Solve will give us a platform to scale our solution to a global stage thus impacting many women's lives.