Where will the Money Come From? SDI and Local-Level Finance

Author(s)
Bolnick, J.
Publication language
English
Pages
38pp
Date published
01 Dec 2016
Publisher
Slum Dwellers International
Type
Research, reports and studies
Keywords
Funding and donors, National & regional actors, Urban
Organisations
IIED DFID Urban Crises Learning Fund
Link
http://knowyourcity.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/10177IIED.pdf

Since the 1980s, SDI has worked to place the urban poor at the heart of the politics and economics that make modern cities unequal and exclusionary. Through its savings based city funds and global finance facility, SDI helps communities become the main drivers of change, transforming their slums into safe, secure, affordable neighbourhoods. SDI’s local funds defy conventional housing microfinance, which comprise three segments: organised end users; informal or semi-formal financial intermediaries; and the stand-ins for the formal financial sector.

This paper explores how and why SDI has navigated these segments to transform urban areas by monetising social capital through local-level finance institutions.