Assessment Of The Performance And Operational Modalities Of Community Financial Groups In Tanzania, East Africa

The relevance of community financial groups cannot be overemphasized as the need to enhance the accessibility of financial services to the rural poor deserves the highest priority. To reduce disparities with urban areas, easy access to the usage and experience of basic financial services such as insurance, savings and credit needs to be embraced. In 2008 the Bank of Tanzania requested Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT) to support the development of the rural financial services strategy for Tanzania because of the importance of community development to the economy. A major challenge in effecting these obligations is service delivery, members‘ participation and difficulty in accessing group data. The operational modalities of these financial groups mainly center on how to get government and other non-governmental groups involved. This study therefore, seeks to assess the effectiveness and performance of community financial groups in the provision of services to members.