By Sam Washington, Sky News Business Presenter, in Zambia
World Savings Day is a timely reminder that 2.5 billion people around the world have no access to formal financial services.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank believe that savings and access to bank accounts and credit is a necessary step to relieving global poverty.
Zambia enjoys economic growth of around 7% a year, but income inequality is a problem. Around 60% of the population are thought to not have registered bank accounts and nearly three-quarters of its young people live in poverty.
In 2009, a programme called Banking on Change was started in Zambia and several other developing countries.
The initiative has allowed for the creation of small savings groups in local communities. These co-operatives typically consist of 10 members, and are referred to locally as OSAWA, which stands for Own Savings for Asset and Wealth creation.
Almost 19,000 Zambians are now part of these local savings communities
The meetings are held once a month. It is savings led, with each member expected to make regular contributions.
From these funds, loans can be granted, which are typically used to finance small enterprises. The interest proceeds are split out among the group.
Because the communities are tight, theft and not paying back loans isn't a problem. The default rate is less than 1%. The interest rate is decided collectively, and all the flows of money are carefully documented and signed off.
The benefits are plain to see. Kelvin Mbuzi is 24 and thinks one day he could be president of his native country, Zambia.
An orphan, he is content for the moment to pay his way through university with the proceeds of a very basic computer cafe he was able to start after joining his local OSAWE group.
He told Sky News: "It is... group cooperation and the profit realising at the end of six months that has really helped me to grow. And it has given me a way to sponsor my sister's education as well."
Budding entrepreneurs use loans from the scheme to start new businesses
As his profits have grown, so have his prospects. He now thinks he can fund himself through a science PhD, and help his sister through nursing college.
Nearly 19,000 people in Zambia are now saving and borrowing in this way.
In total there are close to 300,000 people in these Banking on Change groups in different countries.
The programme is a partnership between the NGOs Plan and CareInternational and also Barclays Bank.
Because Africa is an untapped market for customers of financial services, many might be sceptical about the involvement of a bank in this social initiative.
Masautoso Nyangu, Barclays Bank local representative told Sky News: "Not everybody we interact with will become our customer, most of them won't... but it feels fulfilling for us and it is the right thing to do."
It is estimated that if all of the 2.5 billion people without bank accounts were to save in this way, it would pump $145bn (£90.6bn) a year into the global economy.
There is clearly a lot still to be done, but the simple vignettes of empowerment are testament to the fact a little goes a long way.
