History 2005-2017

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Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting economic and social development from the bottom up. In the 1980s, the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe helped the Grameen Bank to train its staff members.

More than seven million people in Germany were classed as overindebted in 2007. After examining how financial education in development countries can contribute to poverty reduction, Sparkassenstiftung intensified its efforts in this sector.

Having a basic understanding of the way money works is especially beneficial for poor households, as it makes them better prepared for emergencies and protects them against rogue money lenders. It also stops them from getting into too much debt. This is why Sparkassenstiftung assists its project partners to build peoples' financial literacy. In Sparkassenstiftung's project work today, financial literacy and savings mobilisation are not only an integral component of the overarching goal of poverty reduction but often an independent project objective in their own right.

Sparkassenstiftung supported the rollout of the first-ever World Savings Day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aim was to make it easier for people with moderate to low-level incomes to access financial services.

The upshot: some 11,000 pupils and students opened an account for the first time in their lives. In the meantime, Sparkassenstiftung has introduced World Savings Day in around 20 project countries and more are set to join in. This is another major success, because World Savings Days are a proven and effective tool for teaching children, young people and their parents about the importance of saving.

Sparkassenstiftung celebrated its 20th anniversary. Only 50 per cent of the world's population over 15 years has a bank account. Around the globe, Sparkassenstiftung is actively working to get the remaining 50 per cent banked.
Project approaches

Sparkassenstiftung rolled out regional projects in Latin America, East Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and in the Caucasus in a bid to strengthen the South-South exchange and to focus project work both thematically and regionally.

2017 saw Sparkassenstiftung celebrate its 25-year anniversary. Since it was first founded in 1992, it has implemented more than 200 projects in over 80 countries worldwide. More than 2,000 Sparkassen employees have been deployed on project assignments and over 200 permanent staff members are today working to promote financial inclusion - and their numbers are growing.