The Role of Sustainable Village Community Banks on Improving Standard of Living of Members in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_21How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Sustainable VICOBA; standard of living; livelihood outcomes; Kilimanjaro

Abstract

The study examined the role of Sustainable Village Community Banks (VICOBA) in enhancing the living standards of members in the Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. A cross-sectional research design incorporating both qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed. The study targeted a population of 8,700 members, from which a sample of 330 was selected using Cochran’s sample size formula at a 95% confidence level, a 5% margin of error, and a population proportion of 20%. Data were collected through a questionnaire and an interview guide and analyzed using a paired sample t-test. The findings showed a statistically significant relationship (p-value < 0.05) for VICOBA members in six (net income, plots of land, house values, cost of health, business values, and cost of education) out of eight assessed livelihood outcomes, which in turn improved their standard of living. Furthermore, key informants indicated that members were motivated to join VICOBA primarily due to access to low-interest loans, which they utilized to improve their living standards through various economic activities, including agriculture and businesses. Additionally, members benefited from covering expenses such as school fees and household needs, including acquiring and improving assets. It is recommended that VICOBA be well managed to leverage the advantages, especially in rural areas, to maximize its socio-economic impact.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Nyanjige Mbembela Mayala
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/13
TI  - The Role of Sustainable Village Community Banks on Improving Standard of Living of Members in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania
BT  - Proceedings of the FIREtalk Conference - Research on FIRE! (research-on-fire 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 305
EP  - 319
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_21
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-705-7_21
ID  - Mayala2026
ER  -