Youth Entrepreneurship and Economic Security
Building economic resilience and future livelihoods
UN SDGs 1, 2,3,4,5,8,9,10,16,17
At Lyra, we know that education is just the beginning. True empowerment happens when people can turn their learning into lasting change for themselves and their communities. Our Youth Entrepreneurship program opens the mindset of disempowered out-of-school youth to see the genuine assets they have and learn new skills to use them productively.
From village savings groups, to youth enterprise training and digital learning, we support young people and their families in rural Tanzania to build financial resilience, grow income, and create thriving communities.
IMARIKA JAMII means thriving communities.
It is embodied in a 6 to12 month youth entrepreneurship course, giving livelihood opportunities for youth aged 15 to 34 who have dropped out of school or have limited employment options and are on very low income.
The program harnesses the energy and drive of youth building vocational skills and confidence, breaking the cycle of poverty.
Invest in a young person’s future
With the right support, education can be a springboard to financial freedom. Lyra’s economic security programs ensure students leave school with the skills and support they need to build independent, empowered futures.
Village Savings and Loans
In 2012, Lyra adopted a well-established model from Care International, VSLAs.
Community members learn how to manage their savings and access loans which they use for developing their businesses and investing in agriculture.
It’s a simple but effective model. Due to the financial success of existing groups, new members are attracted to join.
With minimal training and support, to-date Lyra has created 222 VSLAs groups across the Iringa region with over 7,000 members. Expertise builds within the network over time, and the experienced VSLA members train and mentor new groups. The results speak for themselves.
HOW DO VILLAGE SAVINGS AND LOANS WORK?
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Simple, Accessible
Each Village Savings and Loan group is fully self-governed, with no management costs or external control. All interest earned is shared among members, and the only setup cost is a simple lockable box. Designed to be accessible to everyone, groups can be formed anywhere by motivated friends and neighbours who meet regularly to save together. Rules are straightforward and easy to understand, and savings are recorded as shares in a stamped passbook - making the system inclusive even for non-literate members. This share-based model also ensures fairness and transparency when interest and savings are distributed at the end of each cycle.
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Flexible, Sustainable
Each group operates with complete flexibility, setting its own interest rates for saving and borrowing, as well as the price of each share. Members can save or borrow according to their individual needs by purchasing multiple shares, and as the group’s collective financial strength grows, share prices often rise, reflecting the increasing capacity of members to save more. The model is also inherently sustainable: only the funds saved within the group are available for lending, reducing the risk of default or bankruptcy. With no external financing, loans remain directly tied to members’ savings, ensuring that borrowing stays responsible, affordable, and community-driven.
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Collaboration and Support
Village Savings and Loan groups also create powerful social benefits. Each member contributes a small portion of their weekly savings to a shared social fund, which can be used to support anyone in the group facing a crisis, such as unexpected medical costs or funeral expenses.
Beyond financial support, members often say that being part of a group boosts their self-respect, confidence, and sense of belonging. VSLA is not just about saving money, it’s about building trust, dignity, and stronger communities across rural Tanzania .