DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 2 -- COMMUNITY-based savings and credit groups are playing a growing role in financing small and medium-sized enterprises by mobilising domestic savings into affordable loans and profit sharing schemes, helping cushion SMEs from limited access to formal credit.

As commercial lending remains costly and selective, these groups are emerging as a key source of working capital, enabling small traders to expand operations, stabilise cash flow and reinvest profits, while strengthening local economic activities through member-driven financing.

As a growing number of VICOBA groups across the country conclude their annual savings cycles, profit distributions are increasingly serving as a critical source of reinvestment capital...