This project aimed to assess the impact of village savings and lending associations (VSLAs) on socio-economic development of local community in Rwanda, with a particular focus on Masaka Sector of Kicukiro District. More specifically, this project aimed of assessing the VSLAs income generating activities or their main sources of savings in the local community; evaluating the VSLAs types of savings in the local community; evaluating the VSLAs types of lending in the local community; and comparing the socio-economic transformation of the community members before and after joining VSLAs. In the research design, the researcher adopted a descriptive approach and employed a specific case study approach of Masaka Sector in Kicukiro District. For study population, the total study population was 258 members of VSLAs. For sampling, the total sample of 221 was calculated using random sampling technique and for data collection, the researcher used questionnaires and interview guides and for data analysis, the researcher used SPSS. The results showed that VSLAs significantly impacted income sources, prominently empowering agricultural activities (mean = 0.368), while showing moderate influence on trading (mean = 0.319) and lesser impact on handcrafts and tailoring. The results also showed that VSLAs’ savings mechanisms exhibit distinct impacts: emergency and long-term savings display substantial, consistent influences (means = 0.282, 0.395) with differing member engagements. The practical suggestions proposed were that Masaka sector should establish connections with other initiatives, like VUP and BDF, to enhance the socio-economic progress of rural communities. KEYWORDS: Economic development, Income generating activities, social development, types of lending and types of savings
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