Capitalising on Collectives: Women's Savings Groups and Climate Resilience for Sahelian Smallholders in Cape Verde

This perspective argues that women’s village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) constitute a critical, yet under-recognised, social institution for building climate resilience among smallholder farmers in Cape Verde’s Sahelian context. It analyses how these indigenous collectives, predominantly led by women, have evolved beyond microfinance to become robust platforms for autonomous climate adaptation. Drawing on qualitative case studies from recent agricultural and development evaluations within the archipelago, the piece demonstrates their operational rigour. The analysis illustrates how VSLAs facilitate collective investment in climate-smart inputs, communal seed banks, and small-scale irrigation infrastructure. Furthermore, their accumulated social capital enables essential risk-sharing and provides safety nets during climate-induced crop failures. Centring an African feminist perspective, the argument highlights how women strategically leverage these traditional cooperative systems to assert agency in household and community resilience planning, thereby directly challenging gendered vulnerabilities exacerbated by climate change. The significance lies in advocating for policy frameworks that formally recognise and resource these autonomous women’s collectives as key partners in national adaptation strategies. Supporting such grassroots, women-led financial solidarity networks is therefore imperative for fostering sustainable and equitable climate resilience in the Sahel.