Economic sustainability

For us, economic sustainability means cooperating with locally operating institutes that know the region and their customers. The regional focus strengthens and protects the individual institute as well as the respective region and the companies located there. Savings are mobilized locally and converted into loans; the profits flow back into the region and make a sustainable contribution to local economic development. German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation (DSIK) transfers and utilizes these key factors in its project work: to restructure retail banks, to build up microfinance institutions and to strengthen service associations and associated companies.

 


1. Financial Literacy

Education is the key to sustainable development. Knowledge of basic financial interrelations is essential. For this reason, the German Savings Banks are committed to strengthening economic skills and improving the financial scope for private households. They contribute to financial education in Germany with advisory services such as the "Sparkassen-SchulService" for children and young people or "Geld und Haushalt" for adults. German Sparkassenstiftung's work is based on this experience as we adapt the concepts and materials to country-specific needs and target groups.

Project Example: Thailand - Financial Education

Basic financial education can enable disadvantaged groups to benefit from quality education. In Thailand we work with the Thai Ministry of Finance (Fiscal Policy Office) and the Government Savings Bank (GSB). German Sparkassenstiftung is committed to improving living conditions in the region by promoting financial education for young adults as well as micro and small-scale entrepreneurs in selected areas in north-eastern Thailand.


2. Institution Building

"Fair, caring, close by" - the German Savings Banks succeed in combining excellent earnings with social responsibility and making financial services available to everyone. Cost reduction through cooperation in associations and increased earnings through professionalism are key factors in this success. German Sparkassenstiftung transfers and utilizes these key factors in its project work: for restructuring retail banks, transforming informal microfinance institutions into regulated microfinance banks and for establishing associations as service providers for their members.

Project example: Ghana - Strengthening savings and credit cooperatives (Credit Unions) and other microfinance institutions in the provision of financial services

In West Africa, we promote economic growth by supporting credit cooperatives in Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This enables the credit cooperatives to offer their members financial services tailored to their target groups. German Sparkassenstiftung concentrates on further training for the staff of partner institutions and on developing sustainable internal processes. These qualified employees then make a sustainable contribution to the labor market in the project country and strengthen the microfinance institutions from within.


3. Business Games

Since their beginnings in the 1990s, German Sparkassenstiftung's Business Games have developed into an international brand and stand for innovative and interactive learning experiences. Knowledge transfer by means of haptic and computer-based simulations means learning experiences far removed from dry theory. Interactions, practical exercises, and the motivation to emerge as winners from the game lead to a high learning success. International and local trainers specially trained by German Sparkassenstiftung evaluate the results of each round of the game and analyze them together with the participants.

German Sparkassenstiftung's Business Games include:

Board-based business gamesComputer-based business games
  • Farmers Business Game
  • Savings Game
  • Micro Business Game
  • MFI Management Game

German Sparkassenstiftung's Business Games are often used as project work tools. Whether board-based or computer-based: In these highly practice-oriented training courses, participants learn to analyze interrelations, understand their causes and prepare for the unforeseen in the best possible way.

In 2019, the four different Business Games - all customized to specific target groups - reached over 24,000 participants in more than 1,300 training sessions.

Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation e.V.
Simrockstraße 4, 53113 Bonn

Phone: +49 228 9703-0
Fax: +49 228 9703-6613 or -6630

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