LEAP

Local Economic Action Partnership for Socially and Economically Excluded Groups in Alfred Nzo Municipality

With LEAP: Local Economic Action Partnership for Socially and Economically Excluded Groups in Alfred Nzo Municipality, Vesper Society is deepening its work in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province by supporting an innovative and complementary range of economic interventions that enable poor and vulnerable groups to climb the ladder out of poverty.  This partnership between SaveAct (a Pietermaritzburg-based NGO), the European Union through Thina Sinako (a provincial program), and Vesper Society seeks to build upon local initiatives and, importantly, capacities of individuals through the creation and implementation of savings and credit groups (SCGs).

SCGs differ from other microfinancing vehicles such as loans as they give people with limited resources and poor access to microfinance an alternative means for economic empowerment.  In the 30 years since the microfinance revolution, research has demonstrated that many poor people are reluctant to take on additional debt and, simultaneously, are psychologically more comfortable with the idea of saving as a means to change their circumstances.  Moreover, as traditional microfinance mechanisms become institutionalized, SCGs offer services that are often unavailable to many in rural areas and urban slums who do not qualify for such products.

A key aspect of LEAP is to establish windows of opportunity by providing much needed training and mentorship for SCGs in local villages.  Courses in cash flow management, life skills, and enterprise development are culturally appropriate and emphasize the importance of shared responsibility to families and communities.  LEAP also involves local community leaders and administration officials so that SCG members receive support at all levels with the goal of long-term sustainability. 

“I cannot wait to see when things are happening in our area.  This has triggered a lot of enthusiasm in me.” — LEAP Participant

Currently, the project is being implemented in the same areas where Vesper also supports an HIV/AIDS clinic. For many of the households involved, LEAP literally is another lifeline.  For others, particularly women, it enables them to move out of the shadow economy into the economic mainstream.  As Anton Krone, SaveAct’s director, often says, the promise of LEAP is “the multiplier effect . . . financial, human, and social capital is mobilized into productive activity with benefits and profits retained by enterprises and SCGs.”  Community-managed SCGs are another blow against apartheid’s bleak legacy by promoting individual and communal agency over an emphasis on state delivery, which so often entrenches dependency.  

To learn more about LEAP, contact .