£8million aid scheme to bring bank accounts to Africa

Tuesday 20 March 2018

A new £8million aid scheme between Jersey Overseas Aid and Comic Relief will see the island use one of its top areas of expertise to deliver bank accounts, savings, insurance and credit to Africa.

Entitled ‘Branching Out’, the four-year partnership will focus on Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Zambia in a bid to help individuals and small businesses flourish financially with access to affordable financial services.

At present, families and small communities can quickly be left in financial ruin by emergencies – something the project hopes to combat by showing them how to save effectively and provide them with affordable insurance schemes.

Jersey Overseas Aid and Comic Relief will work across St Helier and London to manage the project, and will match each other’s donations of £1million per year, leading to a total of £8million of investment. 

Pictured: The project will enhance the good relations between Jersey and Rwanda, which benefits from a JOA-backed initiative that has seen 246,000 Jersey cows distributed to vulnerable families.

A carefully selected list of organisations has been invited to apply for multi-year projects, with the first grants expected to be handed over by autumn. But the projects won’t just be physical, the initiative will also focus on the general promotion of policy change in a bid to secure financial access for as many people as possible. 

Chairman of Jersey Overseas Aid, Grouville Deputy Carolyn Labey, commented that she was “delighted” to work with “one of the UK’s most cherished charities… in a sector where Jersey has considerable expertise.” 

Ruth Davison, Comic Relief’s Executive Director of Impact and Investment, said that the charity had “bold ambitions” across the chosen countries.

“Financial Inclusion is a pioneering area of development which can transform the lives of individuals, families and communities permanently. As a hub of financial services expertise, along with their 50 years of experience funding international development, Jersey Overseas Aid was a natural partner.”

Pictured: Deputy Carolyn Labey, Chairman of Jersey Overseas Aid.

According to Jersey Overseas Aid, which uses taxpayer money to help deliver humanitarian aid and development across the globe on behalf of the island, access to financial services can benefit entire communities by allowing them to better manage risk, invest in and grow businesses and spend more on health and education. 

“Branching Out has real potential to make a significant impact and most importantly provide an effective means of bringing individuals out of poverty – and keeping them out of poverty,” Deputy Labey added.