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Background:VSL Associates Ltd was formally incorporated as a limited liability company in the UK in January 2007, having operated informally for the previous 2 years. It was founded specifically to promote the adoption of a particular approach to community-managed microfinance, known as the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model. This was driven by a conviction that a new, savings-led, model of microfinance was needed to reach the rural and urban poor that MFIs had, for the most part, failed to serve through reasons of risk, cost and an inherent, limited, demand for credit. VSL Associates founder, Hugh Allen, has worked exclusively since 1995 on the development of the model and has actively facilitated its spread, from its beginnings in Niger to 11 other countries in Africa and to its adoption by the Aga Khan Foundation, CRS and Plan International throughout their Africa programmes and in Asia. In total, through his direct facilitation and instigation (advocacy, design, training, monitoring and MIS support), VSL programmes have been established in the following countries, through CARE International, with the indicated approximate number of current clients:
India 450,000 A further 224,700 members belong to VSLAs established with the assistance of VSL Associates in Africa through programmes designed in partnership with Plan International. These are:
Benin 13,500 Realising the need and demand for a new and appropriate model of rural microfinance, it was this experience of the methodologys success that led him, with Chuck Waterfields active support, to establish the company, designed specifically to spread the methodology to as wide an array of international and local organisations as possible. VSL Associates is, at present the only international company that is specifically founded and structured to offer training, MIS and M&E services to programmes that want to promote a specific model of community-managed microfinance. In addition to CARE and Plan, VSL Associates list of clients include:
Aga Khan foundation in Kenya VSL Associates has also provided the following training services:
Aga Khan Foundation East Africa Regional training, Mombasa,
Kenya, June 2008 VSL Associates Tools and ProductsVSL Associates has developed a generic Programme Guide for community-managed microfinance programmes, now published by PracticalAction Publications of the UK and featured on the CARE, CGAP and FAO websites. It is also available for free download in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish from this website. Working with Chuck Waterfield and Joshua Haynes, VSL Associates has also created an industry standard MIS for VSL programmes, and has facilitated investment in its further development from Oxfam America, CRS, Plan International and CARE, all of whom are standardising on its use in their community-based microfinance programmes. Hugh Allen, who is the founder of VSL Associates was also the facilitator of the SEEP Network Savings-led Financial Services Ratios working group, which finalised the development of industry standard ratios for community-managed microfinance programmes. The ratios paper is available from the SEEP Network website, CARE USA and CGAP. VSL Associates ApproachVSL Associates operates as a consulting company from its base in Solingen, Germany. It has a list of microfinance experts on call who specialise in VS&L as needed. These include:
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