Savings and credit management for community groups
Chamas run on trust.
This is where the
records live.
Youth Voices Community built CHAMA-SMART Hub so that refugee-led and host-community savings groups in Nairobi can keep proper books. Contributions are recorded as they are received, loans follow rules the group itself sets, and every figure can be traced back to the meeting where it was agreed.
Why we built it
A chama's money is usually tracked in an exercise book carried by the treasurer. It works until the book is lost, the treasurer travels, or two members remember a figure differently.
For refugee-led groups the stakes are higher. Members often have no bank history, and a savings record is the only evidence of financial discipline they can show a lender or a resettlement officer.
The Hub keeps that record safely, in a form the group controls and YVC can support. It does not change how a chama operates. It writes down what the chama already does.
Every contribution is receipted and posted to the group ledger the moment it is confirmed.
Loan terms, limits and approval steps are set by the chama, not imposed by the software.
Officials see their own group only. YVC sees the portfolio. Nothing crosses between chamas.
Members without a smartphone use a USSD code on any handset.
What the system handles
Eight modules covering the full working life of a savings group, from the day a member registers to the day their last loan instalment clears.
Member registration and KYC
YVC decides which identity documents each chama must collect: refugee ID, alien card, national ID, UNHCR mandate certificate. A member is marked verified only once every required document has been approved.
Savings and contributions
Regular savings, share capital, welfare contributions and fines. Cash or M-Pesa, with the transaction code stored against the entry. Members can submit a contribution themselves; it stays pending until the treasurer confirms receipt.
Loans
Flat or reducing-balance interest, limits calculated from a member's own savings, guarantors who must accept their share of the risk, and an approval chain the chama defines. Repayment schedules are generated on disbursement.
Merry-go-round rotations
For groups that pay out in turn: a scheduled rotation with a fixed order, so everyone knows whose turn is next and what has already been paid.
Meetings and resolutions
Agendas, attendance, quorum measured against the group's own threshold, minutes and recorded votes. The governance record that funders ask for.
Communication
A notice board for the group and for YVC, plus bulk SMS to members. Works through any registered gateway once a Sender ID is approved.
Reports
Savings by member, loan portfolio with arrears, a full chama statement and a consolidated view across all groups. Exports to CSV and Excel, prints to PDF.
Access control and audit
Nine roles from system administrator down to ordinary member, each with its own permissions. Every login, approval and edit is written to a log that cannot be altered afterwards.
No two chamas
work the same way
So the software does not assume they do. Contribution cycle, interest method, loan ceiling, guarantor requirement, approval chain and quorum are configured per group. Where a group tracks something unusual, YVC can add a field to its records without touching the code.
| Model | How it runs |
|---|---|
| Self-help group | Monthly savings with an internal loan fund and a welfare pool |
| Table banking | Weekly collections, share capital, lending from the table the same day |
| Merry-go-round | Fixed contributions paid out to one member per turn in rotation |
| Investment club | Share-based contributions pooled towards a joint investment |
| Custom | Any combination of savings, shares, welfare, lending and rotation |
Reaching members who are usually left out
Digital financial services tend to fail at the last mile, where members have a basic handset and no data bundle. The Hub is reachable three ways, and the USSD channel is not an afterthought.
Web portal
YVC staff and chama officials. Onboarding, KYC review, approvals, reporting.
In serviceMobile application
Members. Balances, contributions, loan applications, repayment schedules.
API readyUSSD
Members without a smartphone or internet access, on any handset.
In serviceHandling refugee data
The Hub holds identity documents and financial histories belonging to people who are already exposed. That obligation shapes how it was built. The platform follows the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019, and YVC remains the data controller throughout.
Encryption
AES-256 at rest and TLS in transit. National and refugee ID numbers are encrypted field by field, so they are unreadable even in a database dump.
Least privilege
Permissions are checked on every route and every query, not just hidden in the interface.
Separation between groups
Each chama's data is scoped at the database layer. One group cannot see another's members or money, by design rather than by convention.
Permanent audit trail
Logins, approvals, edits and configuration changes are written once. The application has no path to alter or delete them.
Administrator verification
One-time codes on administrator sign-in, with rate limiting and session timeouts.
Backups
Daily incremental and weekly full backups, with restoration tested rather than assumed.
Youth Voices Community works with
Bringing a chama onto the Hub
YVC onboards registered self-help, table banking and merry-go-round groups with a constitution and an elected committee. Speak to the team about joining the programme, or sign in if your group is already registered.