- Trial lecture starts at 10.15
- Public defence starts at 12.00
The title of the trial lecture is “Digging Deeper: Examining the Underlying Mechanisms and Logics Driving Performance Variations in Donor-Funded versus Self-Initiated Savings Groups.”
Assessment committee:
- Professor Hubert Tchakoute Tchuigoua, at Kedge Business School
- Professor Eddy Balemba, Catholic University of Bukavu
- Associate Professor Prince Baah-Peprah, UiA (leder av komiteen)
Supervisors in the doctoral work:
- Professor Roy Mersland, UiA
- Professor Bert D'Espallier, KU Leuven
- Førsteamanuensis Kjetil Andersson, UiA
Summary of thesis
Savings groups (SGs) are defined as informal community-based financial organizations composed of 15 to 30 individuals who come together to save, borrow, and mutually support each other. These groups have emerged as cornerstones for extending inclusive access to basic financial services to populations excluded from formal banking. An increasing number of donors, international NGOs, and scholars researching the financial inclusion of marginalized individuals recognize SGs not merely as intermediaries of savings and credit but as platforms for empowerment, resilience, and local development. However, significant questions concerning the factors that led to their success and their internal dynamics remain unanswered. More precisely, the factors that determine their sustainability, the comparative performance of facilitated (donor project-driven) versus self-initiated (community-based driven) groups, and their psychosocial outcomes are not well understood.
This dissertation aims to address this knowledge gap through a mixture of econometric models drawing on data from more than 3,500 SGs and 8,300 members across Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, using unique panel and survey data collected by the Strømme Foundation between 2014 and 2023. Three interrelated questions guide the inquiry: (1) What determines the long-term survival of SGs? (2) How do facilitated (donor-driven) and self-initiated (community-driven) groups compare in financial performance? (3) How does membership duration influence members’ self-esteem?
The findings contribute to the understanding of SGs in three distinct ways. First, survival analysis indicates that group longevity depends less on time alone than on structural and social factors, including group size, financial efficiency, attendance, and participation in “plus activities.” Sustainability in fragile contexts is thus grounded in both financial health and collective resilience. Second, comparative analysis employing random-effects models shows that self-initiated SGs consistently outperform donor-facilitated groups in key financial indicators while achieving similar returns on savings. These findings challenge prevailing assumptions about aid dependence and underscore the scalability of autonomous, bottom-up models. Third, the findings of OLS regressions demonstrate that prolonged membership enhances self-esteem, thereby confirming insights from social identity theory that marginalized individuals with prolonged membership in savings groups gain psychological empowerment and are more likely to enjoy better psychological well-being, strong health outcomes, and greater resilience.
Taken together, the results demonstrate that SGs are far more than financial intermediaries. These groups engender resilience and empowerment, yielding economic and psychosocial returns. By systematically analyzing survival, performance, and self-esteem, this dissertation contributes to debates on financial inclusion and development. The evidence presented indicates the potential for the development of more sustainable, cost-effective, and context-sensitive strategies that leverage local capacity while reducing aid dependency.
What to do as an online audience member
The disputation is open to the public. To follow the trial lecture and the public defence online, register on Zoom.
We ask online audience members to join no earlier than 10 minutes in advance. After these times, you can leave and rejoin the meeting at any time.
Opponent ex auditorio:
Deadline for the public to pose questions is during the break between the two opponents. Questions ex auditorio can be submitted to disputation chair.
Questions?
- gunvor.guttormsen@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 16 48