Earlier this month, I travelled to Zambia with JOA’s Head of Programme, Gilly Challinor, for a mid-point visit to Ulemelero: Live Well for Women’s Empowerment – a JOA-funded project led by Restless Development Zambia that is now halfway through its implementation. The purpose of the mid-point visit is to spend time with the project team and participants to understand what is working well and identify any areas for further consideration.
Using a market systems development (MSD) approach, the project promotes financial inclusion for rural young women by improving access to digital financial services while addressing the structural barriers that limit participation. Through savings groups, mobile money, and community mobilisation, it’s helping shape more inclusive local economies.
We visited communities in two of the project’s three target provinces: Eastern and Luapula, to see how the project is working in practice. A standout strength of the project lies in its strong partnerships with participating communities and networks of Community-Based Facilitators (CBFs) and Community-Based Champions (CBCs). Together with the project team, the CBFs and CBCs work to facilitate change and are at the heart of the project’s successful first two years of implementation.
Local Leadership in Action: Community Based Facilitators (CBFs)
Restless Development’s mandate hinges on ensuring young people’s voices are heard and they can lead in decisions that affect their lives. As such, the project primarily focuses on youth empowerment and mobilises a network of youth Community Based Facilitators (CBFs).
CBFs are youth representatives who have been selected and trained by Restless Development to support day-to-day project activities – such as formation of- and support to- Savings Groups (SGs) and delivery of , deliver training, and supporting links between link communities to and mobile money services. They play a vital role in ensuring activities are relevant and well received.
During our visit, CBFs shared how training on group formation, financial literacy and gender has boosted their confidence and leadership skills. They are responsible for cascading this knowledge to their wider communities, supporting the project’s reach.
Each CBF supports several groups spread across rural areas, often across long distances and challenging terrain – particularly during the rainy season. Despite this, focus group discussions with SG members expressed strong appreciation for the work of CBFs and clear appetite for additional training sessions. Restless Development’s network of CBFs is a tried and tested model and continues to prove an effective way to ensure project activities are tailored to the unique needs of participating communities.
Breaking Barriers: the role of Community Based Champions (CBCs)
The project also facilitates community conversations that challenge longstanding social norms – such as gender roles and encourage more inclusive decision-making. Such conversations are enabled through Restless Development’s network of volunteer Community Based Champions (CBCs). CBCs are responsible for sharing training around shared responsibilities at the household level, collective decision-making around household budgeting and finances and improved communication between men and women as well as youth and older persons within target communities.
Focus groups shared examples of such training has been adopted in practice: with participants reflecting on how these dialogues are helping shift attitudes at both the household and community levels. To ensure the training is as inclusive as possible, Restless Development has equipped its CBCs with tools, like placards and visual aids, have helped ensure wide participation – including among low-literacy groups.
Creating New Opportunities
By strengthening Savings Groups, the project seeks to improve the financial independence of women and men. Focus groups highlighted a strong appetite for entrepreneurship amongst SG members – with individuals having taken small scale loans to support business enterprises (inc. second-hand clothing businesses, vegetable businesses and food/drinks sales).
Another component the project seeks to expand is access to digital financial services (DFS) – including mobile money. Within the project, CBFs are being trained as mobile money agents, giving them a potential income stream while expanding financial access for others who wish to cash in/cash out. To increase community member’s access to mobile money and DFS Restless Development has partnered with Flexi-Pay to provide basic phones on a pay-as-you-go basis to interested SG members. It’s a practical, flexible model that mitigates barriers to access.
Additionally, in the remaining two years of the project Restless Development will continue to work closely with the Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS) Bank and tech-partner, Pearl Systems to digitalise Savings Group processes, and facilitate Savings Groups’ improved access to digital financial products, such as loans.
Looking forward
The visit reinforced the importance of local leadership in delivering meaningful and context-specific change. CBFs, CBCs, and the wider Restless Development Zambia team are not just delivering project activities – they are actively shaping how financial services and gender inclusion take root in their communities.
As the project enters its second half, there is a strong foundation to build on. Continued investment in practical support – for example, training, facilitation tools, and improved access to digital infrastructure – will help CBFs and CBCs sustain their work and adapt to evolving needs.
Planned work with partners such as the Zambia National Building Society and Pearl Systems to digitalise savings group processes also offers a timely opportunity to enhance access to formal financial services. Combined with growing community demand for entrepreneurship and training, these efforts could further strengthen the project’s long-term impact.
Crucially, the project’s focus on working through trusted local networks and existing systems positions it well for sustainability beyond the current funding period. By keeping communities at the centre and remaining responsive to their feedback, the project is well placed to deliver lasting gains in financial inclusion and gender equality.