The extended arms of policy credit
Thanks to preferential credit from the Nghe An Social Policy Bank (SPB), many poor households, near-poor households, and other policy beneficiaries have been able to invest in production development and improve their lives. This result is largely due to the significant contributions of savings and loan groups led by women.
Extended arms
In Thanh Duong commune, Thanh Chuong district, a prime example is Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, the head of the Duong Tam Savings and Loan Group. With her energetic and enthusiastic personality, in 2019, Ms. Ha was trusted by the group members and elected as the group leader. Initially, Ms. Ha faced many difficulties, but thanks to the dedicated guidance of the Social Policy Bank staff, the Women's Union of the commune, and her proactive participation in training courses on loan management, she gained more knowledge and experience in her work. As the group leader, Ms. Ha always closely monitors and promptly understands the circumstances of each family and the loan needs of the members, constantly learning and thoroughly researching the content of the government's social policy credit programs.
Ms. Ha shared: “As the group leader, I have the responsibility to always participate in training courses on loan procedures organized by the Social Policy Bank and the commune's poverty reduction committee. I attend monthly meetings at the commune's transaction point, organize group activities, and monitor and inspect the use of loan capital by borrowers. This helps me to promptly grasp and absorb issues related to credit policies, and to conduct open and democratic discussions from the initial selection of eligible beneficiaries to the process of using loan capital to invest in farming, livestock raising, and developing other industries.”
The Duong Tam hamlet savings and loan group, managed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, has 41 members with a total outstanding loan balance of over 3 billion VND. In recent years, the group has had no overdue loans or outstanding interest. Besides her role as the head of the savings and loan group, Ms. Ha is also the Vice-Chairwoman of the Duong Tam hamlet Women's Association. She is exemplary, enthusiastic, and possesses a spirit of mutual support and compassion, readily assisting and guiding other members of the association in developing their businesses and escaping poverty. She also encourages her family to actively participate in cultural development movements, new rural construction, and other emulation movements launched by the local authorities.
Currently, the network of Savings and Loan Groups in the province, especially those managed by women's associations, is constantly being strengthened. These groups are being reorganized and integrated with community activities, helping to improve the quality of policy credit operations. In Nam Dan district, following directives, the District Social Policy Bank has effectively coordinated with entrusted women's associations at the district and commune levels to develop a sustainable network of savings and loan groups integrated with community activities. Since the start of implementation in the fourth quarter of 2023, Nam Dan has established and launched 58 sustainable savings and loan groups integrated with community activities out of a total of 233 groups in the district. Of these, the District Women's Association has launched 18 sustainable savings and loan groups integrated with community activities out of a total of 65 groups under its management.
The groups organized their activities very systematically, from scripting and content to the participation of all attendees. Members exchanged and learned from successful economic models for poverty reduction, actively built funds for gratitude and support for the poor, helped disadvantaged families, promoted education, raised well-behaved and studious children, and developed community tourism.
Ms. Pham Thi Hai, Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Nam Dan District, said that the establishment of community activity groups has fostered community solidarity and linked many activities more effectively. This model aims to further support people in developing their economy, improving their living standards, and overcoming the previously unfair loan application process. It is considered an "extension" of policy credit activities, working towards building a strong community that shares happiness and prosperity.
Continue to improve
Implementing the policy of building sustainable Savings and Loan Groups linked to community activities, the Provincial Women's Union directed the establishment of a pilot model of one community group in Tan Huu hamlet, Nghia Loc commune, Nghia Dan district. Following the establishment of this pilot model, all 20 district, city, and town Women's Unions in the province directed the establishment of 47 pilot models of community savings and loan groups, with communes taking the lead in directing the establishment of 42 pilot models. By March 30, 2025, the Provincial, district, and commune Women's Unions had established 309 community savings and loan groups out of a total of 1,904 groups with 21,630 members participating in 309 communes, including 15,450 members under Decision 15/QD-HDQT and 6,180 "community" members.
The community activities of the groups are rich and diverse, including activities that serve to preserve and promote local culture such as folk music and dance, customs and traditions, festivals, and culinary culture. Activities create spaces for interaction such as arts and culture, physical education and sports (folk dancing, volleyball, health exercises...), combined with sharing experiences in production and business, or collaborating in farming, production, entrepreneurship, and community tourism. The women also strengthen community bonds through activities such as visiting, sharing, encouraging, and supporting each other within the group...
Integrating Savings and Loan Group activities with community activities has contributed to improving the quality of group meetings, enriching the content of the meetings, and increasing the number of members participating. Most groups have attracted more villagers (who had not yet borrowed capital) to participate. Attending these meetings shows that the people participating are enthusiastic, resulting in a significant improvement in the quality of the activities.
The qualitative changes in the operation of the Savings and Loan Group network have initially contributed to improving some results in entrusted lending activities. To date, the total outstanding entrusted capital is VND 4,419.817 billion for 71,614 borrowing households. Overdue debt is VND 1.221 billion, accounting for 0.03%.
Units with reduced overdue loan rates include: Ky Son, Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, and Tuong Duong; units with reduced outstanding interest include: Do Luong, Nghi Loc, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Ky Son, and Tan Ky. The amount of savings mobilized through the groups was 207.215 billion VND (an increase of 9.480 billion VND compared to the beginning of the year), with 73,687 participating members. The average savings balance was 2,810,000 VND per household. The network of Savings and Loan Groups continues to be strengthened.
Ms. Le Thi Huong Giang, Vice President of the Provincial Women's Union, stated: The Provincial Women's Union has promptly issued directives and guidelines to all levels of the Union to implement the establishment of Savings and Loan Groups, ensuring that the set goals and timelines are met. The implementation has received the consensus of the Women's Union at all levels, the provincial and district banks, and the Savings and Loan Groups themselves. Therefore, unified guidance has been provided to the grassroots level for effective implementation. The Union at all levels has focused on disseminating information through various channels to increase the number of people who can access the program.
In the coming period, women's associations at all levels will seriously and effectively implement the plan of the Social Policy Bank and entrusted organizations in Nghe An province on "Building a sustainable network of Savings and Loan Groups, linked to community activities of women's associations at all levels in Nghe An province by 2030". We will also coordinate with the provincial Social Policy Bank to research and revise the criteria and solutions for implementation to suit each locality and each time period…
Ms. Le Thi Huong Giang - Vice President of the Provincial Women's Union
