For many years Nontethelelo Nkonzo struggled to live a proper life. A single mother of two girls and a boy, she was born in Umzimkhulu and lived with relatives from the age of six in Nositha village near Margate. She did not finish matric because of lack of funds....

Digital record-keeping for savings groups is inevitable but the road to implementation is not easy. This has been the case for both SaveAct — which has been running a pilot project to introduce an app for record-keeping to groups — and organisations working in other...

In March SaveAct met its nemesis.  If the organisation’s main reason for existence is to unleash potential by bringing people together, then SARS-CoV-2, a nano-sized virus that leverages human contact to advance, is a deadly foe. Given the speed at which the pandemic...

Namaqualand. A place of stark, arid landscapes, magnificent spring flowers, livestock farming and mining. That’s the narrative most people know about Namaqualand, but a black woman called Rosina Secondt is creating a new one for herself. She’s the owner of 250 olive...

In a huge vote of confidence in SaveAct’s work, the South African government has, for the first time, partnered with us. SaveAct has entered into a three-year agreement with the Jobs Fund, whereby the agency will fund the mentorship and graduation of 10 000 savings...

“I had been in development work for 20 years, and when I saw this model I thought yes, this could work.” Like the simple savings model he was so impressed by, Hugh Allen is a no-frills kind of guy, direct and to the point. Decades ago he was an engineer from the UK,...

A social movement is emerging, driven by the work of SaveAct and its partners. How is it happening and what does this mean? This was one of the main points of discussion at SaveAct’s Annual Partners Meeting in October, where staff from the organisation and 11 of its...

Congratulations to our director and founder, Anton Krone, for this certificate of appreciation awarded to him by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. The award was made by Bill Maddocks, director of the Sustainable Microfinance and...

SaveAct and FinMark Trust are excited to become local partners for SG2020: The Future of Savings Groups. Hosted by The SEEP Network, the conference will take place in Durban in March 2020. Request for proposals SG2020: The Future of Savings Groups will offer a...

SaveAct is gearing up to launch a pilot of a new service that will enable thousands of savings group members to communicate directly with the organisation via WhatsApp, as well as access information. SaveAct is working with Praekelt, an NGO that uses mobile technology...

Lungi was treated badly by her boyfriend, but she felt trapped and unable to leave. He had a job and she didn’t. He had money and she had none, although she did have three children to take care of. And so she endured the abuse. This story is not real but it is a...

The savings programme continues to show its versatility in enabling people in different circumstances to improve their lives. One of our partners, Jabulani Rural Health Foundation in the Eastern Cape, works with Zithulele Hospital and runs a programme that supports...