Microeconomic Groups
In April 2012, the late Alec Johnson proposed to the St. Augustine Community Love Programme a structure for village-based cooperative savings and loan groups, based on local culture, to provide capital for small craft projects making items to be sold in the market for cash. Over 250 groups were formed, and some of these groups did very well. In 2023, a new Uganda NGO was formed, Amazing Love Uganda (ALU), to coordinate economic and financial training among these groups to strengthen their financial management.
Community groups, typically 50-100 women, pay a small amount (equivalent to a few US cents) into a common revolving fund to establish a partnership. Those funds are added to a one-time sponsorship from someone like you. The members then work together in multiple local entrepreneurial projects. Each member uses the fund to purchase supplies, then replenishes it plus a contribution from sales. The funds thus grow over time. When the groups are sufficiently successful, they sponsor additional groups in other villages.