All articles
Browse every published financial lesson and KikumiKyo guide.
Search the Academy21 published articles
Before you guarantee someone's loan
Guaranteeing a loan is not a character reference. It is a promise to pay the debt yourself. Read this before you agree.
SACCOs and Savings GroupsHow a savings group works
The full cycle of a VSLA or savings group — contributions, the loan fund, interest, and share-out — explained from the inside.
SACCOs and Savings GroupsHow to read your member statement
Your statement is the only independent record of your money in the group. Here is how to read every line of it, and what to do when something looks wrong.
Digital Financial SafetyProtecting yourself from mobile-money fraud
Mobile-money fraud works by creating urgency so you act before you think. The patterns are predictable — and once you know them they stop working.
SACCOs and Savings GroupsSavings, shares and loans: what's the difference?
Three words that get mixed up constantly — and mixing them up costs members money. A plain explanation of what each one actually is.
Loans and CreditUnderstanding loan interest
Interest is the price of using someone else's money. Here is how it is calculated, why two loans quoting "3% per month" can cost very different amounts, and what to ask before you sign.
Leadership and GovernanceUnderstanding maker-checker
The single most effective control a group can adopt — one person records a transaction, a different person approves it. Why it works and where groups get it wrong.