Given the level of poverty and financial exclusion in rural settings1 the informal savings groups will, for a foreseeable future, prevail as viable means to expand access to finance (savings and loans). It is a false assumption to expect formal and modern sector to penetrate such areas, some of which appear more in need of humanitarian aid than development interventions.

After so many years of donors support to the savings groups industry, this MTR exercise offers an opportunity to respond two overarching questions (i) whether interventions, such as PkW’s delivery mechanisms and activities are informed by knowledge that have accumulated overtime both in and outside the industry and; (ii) whether there are still knowledge gaps that the Project could fill.