Simatelele

2. SAVE THE CHILDREN’S
E-TRANSFER PROJECT
2.1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In response to the ongoing food security crisis, Save the Children launched the Emergency Food Security
Cash for Training/Work Project (EFSP). The project lasted from October 2014 – July 2015, targeting 25
wards in the Binga and Kariba Districts. Basic project details are summarized in Table 2, below:
Table 2: Project Description
LOCATION
Project Length
Total Number of Recipients
Number of Cash Transfers
Frequency of Cash Transfers
Cash Transfer Amount
Service Provider
Donor
BINGA & KARIBA DISTRICTS
Nine months (September 23, 2014-July 31, 2015)
Unconditional cash transfers began in October; conditional cash
transfers began in November
6,750
Six
Monthly
28 USD
Econet, an MNO, with a mobile money service called EcoCash
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
EFSP was designed to support consumption and food security among the most vulnerable households
through conditional and unconditional cash transfers. Binga district has been affected by chronic food
security issues for many years. Few residents are formally employed, and few have productive farms that
enable them to sell excess harvests. Humanitarian programs, including in-kind food assistance and cash
transfer programs, have provided an important (though irregular) form of support for some residents.
EFSP recipients received 28 USD per month intended to cover the cost of a specific “food basket”
to improve household resilience and self-sufficiency in managing shocks. In exchange, 6,240 nonlabor
constrained households participated in either conservation agriculture trainings or community
rehabilitation and construction projects (and received cash transfers as a condition of their participation).
Labor-constrained households (510) received the cash unconditionally. Over the life of the project, 6,750
households were reached, totaling 30,237 indirect beneficiaries (14,751 males and 15,666 females). Sixty
percent of transfers were distributed to female account holders.
EFSP’s transfer amount was set to cover contents of a specific food basket and fees for a single cash-out,
and there was no expectation that funds would be sufficient to cover other expenses or for savings. As
such, the project was not designed to promote savings, or the use of other financial services associated
CAN E-TRANSFERS PROMOTE FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN EMERGENCIES: A CASE STUDY FROM ZIMBABWE 11