This document summarizes a presentation on empowering women through savings groups and agribusiness interventions to improve food security in Malawi. It describes how the WALA program created an enabling environment for both men and women by considering training locations and promoting a group approach. This increased access to income and resources for both male and female participants. The program used savings groups and marketing approaches to transfer skills to women and train them in group management. This resulted in increased confidence, self-esteem, and respect for women from their husbands and communities as they contributed more income. The increased agency also led to greater participation in household and public decision making.

1. Juma Masumba
Catholic Relief Services -Malawi Country Program
Beating the Famine: Bingu International Conference Centre
Lilongwe – Malawi
14 April 2015
Empowering Women through Savings Groups and
Agribusiness Interventions to Improve Food and
Nutritional Security

2. 2
Created space and enabling environment
for participation of both men and women
• Focused / considered training & location of
any trainings and or activities
• Promoted group approach to learning as it
provided support among members and
within the community
• Increased access to income and resources
to male and female program participants
(SILC + Agribusiness +)
WALA PROGRAM DESIGN

3. 3

4. 4
Use of SILC and Marketing approach
to transfer skills to women
– Self forming and self managed groups
– Trained in group management and
leadership and technical aspects of
the interventions
Lesson #1: Approach and Intervention

5. Lesson #2: Increased access to
income & other resources
5
Resulted in increased
confidence and self esteem
(agency) and earned women
respect from their husbands
and community members
because of the income
contribution they made to
households.
Mrs. Violet Mponda,
WALA supported SILC (VSL) member and Chilies farmer from
Machinjiri Village in Zomba district.

6. Lesson #3: “# 2” Leads to greater female
participation in decision making
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Judith Dzinga: President of the Chikwawa
District SILC Private Service Providers
Network.
The PSPs & their Network are scaling up SILC
activities after WALA Project closure
Increased agency resulted in
greater female participation in
decision making at household
level as well as greater
confidence to speak in Public.

7. LINKS FOR WALA STUDY REPORTS ON
GENDER / WOMEN THE REPORTS
1. Empowering women through savings
groups
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pa00k4d2.pdf
or
http://www.crsprogramquality.org/storage/agriculture/Empowering_wom
en_through_savings_groups.pdf
2. Gender in Agribusiness
http://www.crsprogramquality.org/storage/agriculture/gender_in_agribusi
ness_learning_paper.pdf
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8. This presentation is made possible by the generous
support of the American people through the support of
the Office of Food for Peace, Bureau for Democracy,
Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) under
terms of Cooperative Agreements No. AID-FFP-A-09-
00001, through the Wellness and Agriculture for Life
Advancement Project (WALA), managed by Catholic
Relief Services (CRS). The contents are the
responsibility of CRS and do not necessarily reflect the
views of USAID or the United States Government.
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