When Jong-Hyon saw Savings Groups in Colombia in 2010, she knew that this is the program that the development aid should promote. With the guidance of Prof. Jeffrey Ashe in Brandeis, she simplified SG methodology with Dominican farmers and with Fundación Capital, she managed to access Dominican government’s conditional cash transfer program (formerly PROSLI) where she trained over 1,500 field workers and helped them form over 800 groups with 14,000 members. The vice president, head of PROSOLI, recognized the importance of savings groups and declared it as a public policy in 2015. Various banks started getting interested in developing financial products and services for the SG members. BHD bank designed a simplified savings account and ADOPEM opened group accounts while Reservas bank and National bank organized visits to savings groups to offer financial education. More than 5 agent banks were set up in the remote villages where there is the presence of savings groups. Jong-Hyon is currently working on a rural development project in Kyrgyzstan with Good Neighbors and KOICA.

Jong presented her work during the weekly Grassroots Finance Action meetings. Below are her presentations:

Linking SGs with CCTs in the DR

Korea’s Saemaul Movement & Savings Groups