Two years ago, Daw Myat Kay Khaing joined Shwe Myanmar Village Saving Bank, a community-owned bank set up in Tha Yet Chaung Village with the Cufa Female Financial Empowerment program. She lives with four other family members and ten years ago started a small shop at the front of their house. Unfortunately, without any financial education, Daw Myat Kay Khaing struggled to make any profit or save any of this income.

When Cufa project officers first came to her village Daw Myat Kay Khaing was cautious at first but after engaging with the program she started to learn a lot. She opened a savings account with her local community-owned bank started by Cufa and realized the importance of some of the skills being taught. After this, she started to save some of her money and it made her very happy to look at the progress in her savings book.

Cufa’s financial literacy lessons helped her understand concepts like calculating the interest on her savings and learning how to set savings goals and about the benefits of saving. As she learnt, Daw Myat Kay Khaing developed stronger saving habits and began making contributions more regularly. She encouraged many of her friends to also join the program and open up savings accounts saying, “Having a community-owned bank in our village helps teach everyone how to calculate our interest on savings and loans. Moreover, we can share knowledge about our bank when we meet friends from other villages.”

As Daw Myat Kay Khaing attended more financial literacy lessons, she and other villagers exchanged more stories about their businesses. Together they learnt about auditing, financial cooperatives, leadership skills, bookkeeping and more. Their businesses began to grow as they learnt more and their community-owned bank was there for them. After six months making regular savings deposits, Daw Myat Kay Khaing was eligible to take a loan out and did so happily with the aim of improving her business.

Daw Myat Kay Khaing was able to grow her business with the loan and begin earning extra money. After a short time, she had already repaid the loan and was thrilled with her progress. She had to say of the program, “I now know about the benefits of saving money at a bank and I have decided to make regular contributions to my savings account. Thank you Cufa!”

Learn more about Cufa empowering women to reach financial independence across Myanmar!