World Vision Livelihoods

World Vision Livelihoods

World Vision Livelihoods

VisionFund is part of our parent organisation World Vision’s livelihoods programming, addressing the underlying causes of child poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, vulnerability to climatic events, and lack of access to markets and financial services. Together, we work within communities to affect change along the poverty continuum.

5.8M

children benefited from investments to promote productive and resilient livelihoods

7.1M

adults benefited from investments to promote productive and resilient livelihoods

4M

adults participated in building secure livelihoods interventions

1.2M+

people participated in 53,326 Savings Groups

Our goal is to break the cycle of poverty for the most vulnerable by strengthening families' capacity to provide well for their children. Most of the world's extreme poor are smallholder farmers. World Vision's approach to livelihoods focuses on equipping and empowering them, through four key project models: Ultra-Poor Graduation, Building Secure Livelihoods, Savings for Transformation and Microfinance. 

VisionFund supports the microfinance project model that builds on the other livelihoods project models and offers new products for the Savings for Transformation project model. 

Ultra-Poor Graduation Model

Ultra-Poor Graduation Model

World Vision’s intensive two-year programme, Ultra-Poor Graduation, equips the most vulnerable families to be self-reliant once World Vision has moved on to help others. World Vision provides access to temporary food and cash assistance, savings for transformation, training, and marketing expertise to help families’ start a small business or access employment. Families also learn about health, nutrition, and hygiene practices to ensure that economic gains are translated into better care for their children.

Building Secure Livelihoods

Building Secure Livelihoods

World Vision focuses on strengthening families’ ability to build a secure livelihood through farming business enterprises in order to gain more nutritious food and a regular income to meet their children’s basic needs. Disasters often push families backward, so we encourage them to build resilience by saving and managing natural resources more effectively.

The aim of this model is to build secure and resilient livelihoods through a 3 – 5-year programme so that parents and caregivers can provide sustainably for their children.

Savings for Transformation

Savings for Transformation

Savings for Transformation is an approach being used by over six million active participants involved with savings groups (including many women's groups), to facilitate savings and credit in a small-scale and sustainable way. This project model enables community members to save, so they can plan ahead, cope with household emergencies, develop their livelihoods and invest in the health and education of their children.

Savings groups are owned, managed and operated by group members, using a simple, transparent method whereby groups accumulate and convert small amounts of cash into savings. 

Microfinance

Microfinance

World Vision works with community members to develop and grow relevant work skills. Smallholder businesses can then benefit from VisionFund loan capital to promote market and employment opportunities. The microfinance model focuses on providing smallholder farmers and off-farm enterprises across the poverty spectrum, with a comprehensive range of financial services such as credit, savings accounts, and insurance, delivered with high standards of service, so that rural families can thrive and recover from disaster.