SIMS Project – Social Innovation, Mutual Learning and Small-Scale Savings across Europe

In the SIMS project, four different pilot projects aimed at increasing financial awareness and promoting small-scale savings were implemented in parallel across four different European Union member states (Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Hungary) amongst low-income households.

The SIMS project in Hungary was implemented in nine towns across several Hungarian regions, where three different financial, educational and development methods were implemented, tested and compared: these were CAF, Esélykassza and IDA.

• The acronym CAF stands for the Spanish term Comunidades Autofinanciadas (self-financing communities). It refers to a financial group that is not controlled by external owners; the group is owned solely and exclusively by its members. The group’s rules, decisions and operations are determined by the members themselves.
• In the Esélykassza method, group members make advance savings, which are then supplemented by additional loan capital to form the group’s collective savings; loans to group members can be granted from this fund.
• IDA (Individual Development Accounts) – In this method, on the one hand, participants make regular monthly savings into their own bank accounts during the programme, and on the other hand, it includes a grant of the same amount, which helps participants to achieve their savings goals.

The programme was implemented by the Autonómia Foundation in collaboration with local authorities, Mikrohitel Zrt. and NOBA Közösségi Kölcsön NonProfit Kft. as financial and lending partners. We also established local partnerships with savings cooperatives operating in the communities.

The aim of the SIMS project in Hungary was to compare the three methods mentioned above in terms of which method is most suitable for a given target group, and to explore the possibilities for adapting the CAF method, which was previously unknown in Hungary.