Whole Foods Market Foundation Announces $230,000 investment supporting innovative savings methods
For entrepreneurs and farmers living on around $4 a day, there are often a variety of barriers that prevent them from accessing the capital they need to launch and sustain their businesses. Low-income populations tend to have difficulty meeting the requirements of collateral or consistent income, leaving billions of people without access to basic financial services. Village savings and loan associations are innovative solutions that address a critical gap in financial inclusion while creating sustainable pathways out of poverty to build financial resilience.
Whole Foods Market Foundation, in partnership with the Kasperick Foundation, is excited to approve $230,000 in funding across five projects that promote and broaden access to innovative savings mechanisms through our High Impact Fund. Since 2013, Whole Planet has authorized $1.75M in additional value to our partners, with the goal of improving their ability to meet their clients’ needs and provide new, more or better products and services.
CAURIE
CAURIE Microfinance was established in 1999 by Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Senegal and became an independent microfinance institution in 2005. CAURIE primarily serves rural, low-income clients, the majority of whom are women, through a village banking model. In this model, CAURIE trains rural women’s groups to mobilize their own savings, which are then used to provide small, monthly internal loans.
Today, CAURIE continues to expand its reach, offering a growing range of financial services and products to rural microentrepreneurs, with a strong focus on empowering women. Through the support of the High Impact Fund award, CAURIE will enhance its current strategy by making savings and loan products more accessible. This includes on-site savings collection at local markets and providing easy access to small loans, ensuring that financial tools are readily available to their clients.
FUNDER
The Foundation for Rural Business Development (FUNDER) works to champion rural business development in Honduras through efficient and effective training, technical assistance and access to credit for rural savings banks, micro-enterprises, agribusiness and renewable energy initiatives.
Honduras is often subject to severe drought that impacts the availability of water and affects the production of staple crops like beans. FUNDER has designed their High Impact Fund project to strengthen the savings and food security of 540 families across 20 rural Village and Savings Banks by purchasing 60 metal silos for bean storage, allowing producers to store 108,000 pounds of beans. FUNDER will also use the High Impact Fund award to purchase beans from farmers, creating a revolving and sustainable base to shield farmers from inflation and shortages.
SOS Amazonia
SOS Amazonia’s mission is to promote the conservation of biodiversity and the growth of environmental awareness in the Amazon. In addition to conservation, SOS Amazonia works to support sustainable farming practices through smallholder farming and in partnership with indigenous communities.
SOS Amazonia will use their High Impact Fund award to build a cold storage seed bank, allowing the organization’s nursery to purchase 30%-50% more seeds from local collectors. This seed bank will also allow collectors to store excess seeds while they look for buyers, thus reducing the risk of the seeds losing quality. In addition, the organization will use their award to train collectors in financial literacy, empowering local collectors with the knowledge they need to save money, maximize their resources, and avoid exploitation.
SWAHILI HONEY
In Tanzania, Swahili Honey supports smallholder beekeepers with training, fair pricing, and market access. Over 2,500 Tanzanian beekeepers have benefited from their services, ensuring high-quality honey production and sustainable practices.
Their Beekeeping Savings Groups project, funded by Whole Planet’s High Impact Fund, aims to establish 20 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) within beekeeping communities, primarily targeting women and youth. These savings groups will empower members to pool resources, offer internal microloans and promote financial resilience. The initiative will also provide financial literacy and bookkeeping tools to ensure transparency. By facilitating easy access to funds, beekeepers will be able to maintain loaned beehives and expand their hives, thereby improving productivity and income while reducing dependence on external credit.
YIKRI
Launched by Entrepreneurs du Monde in 2014, YIKRI offers social microfinance to the most vulnerable entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso, focusing on the peri-urban areas of the country where the population is rapidly growing.
Their High Impact Fund project aims to encourage YIKRI clients’ savings culture by collecting savings during YIKRI regular group meetings and introducing a deposits remuneration scheme to their savings products. This project will also serve internally displaced persons who have relocated to new regions due to ongoing political unrest in Burkina Faso.
