For years, many women in this community operated on the economic margins, selling fruits and vegetables, borrowing informally, and navigating the daily pressures of household survival. Lacking access to formal financial services, they relied heavily on traditional borrowing systems, rotating savings that provided temporary relief but lacked long-term impact. Financial literacy, access to credit, and asset building remained elusive.

Tibisa Godana, a mother of five, recalls how her daily income rarely translated into financial stability. “I used to be in a local saving group. But it wasn’t a real saving. The money came and went,” she says.

That changed when she joined Doha Famer Training Center (FTC) VSLA through the “Brighter Future: Improving Food Security and Livelihoods Enhancement for Vulnerable Households” project implemented by Konso Development Association (KDA) with support from ForAfrika. Designed to strengthen resilience and facilitate local market participation, the initiative has connected women to a structured saving mechanism, an entry point into more formal economic activity.

Through targeted training on financial planning, group governance, and income diversification, Tibisa and her peers began saving 250 birr weekly (approximately USD 1.61). It may seem modest, but collectively, they have mobilized over 166,000 birr (approximately (USD 1,067), capital that is now circulating locally, supporting small enterprises, and reinforcing community-level financial flows.

“I borrow to restock my fruit stall and repay it without pressure. It’s not a handout. It’s sustainable. It’s ours,” Tibisa explains.

The VSLA model emphasises transparency and accountability as foundational principles for building trust in financial systems. Their metal savings box, secured by three locks and three custodians, symbolises shared responsibility. With a constitution, member passbooks, and formal registration facilitated by the local cooperative office, Doha VSLA is now integrated into the broader financial support structure.