Whether a championship game, a major project, a 5k, or an exam, we all know what it’s like to work toward a goal. Even more memorable is the feeling of joy and accomplishment that comes when we achieve it! Milestones like these demonstrate our proficiency and the fruits of our hard work.
That’s what a share-out is for savings groups in the HOPE International network—and in September 2025, the savings groups we serve in the West African country of Benin had their very first ones!
After saving together and lending to one another for months, multiple groups marked the completion of their first savings cycle with this celebration.
One group that launched in June 2024 saved over $2,000 (U.S.) and chose to use their share-out funds to bless their church, purchasing four bags of cement to install floor tiles!
Read on to learn about more about share-outs and what this milestone means for savings groups in Benin.
Share-outs: the culmination of a savings cycle
HOPE’s savings groups are designed to teach financial skills and provide access to loans that help families cover household expenses like repairs or invest in businesses to provide for themselves. Each meeting, members pray together, read Scripture, contribute to their weekly savings, and sometimes make group loans to each other. Over time, the group becomes a self-sufficient source of community, discipleship, accountability, and loans. (Read more about how savings groups work here.)
The share-out comes at the end of a group’s savings cycle, which typically spans 9 to 12 months of consistent saving and lending. In this celebratory event, all the money saved and earned through interest on internal loans is distributed back to members.
Each member receives a portion based on how much they contributed throughout the cycle. The more a member saved, the larger their share-out. This process is done transparently with all members present, reinforcing trust and accountability within the group.
From there, members are free to use their share-out funds however they wish! Many launch small businesses, pay school fees, invest in home improvements, or meet urgent needs. It’s also common for members to generously give to their church or invest in resources for their communities.
More than a transaction, the share-out is also a moment to celebrate the fruit of months of hard work. Many groups include prayer and testimonies of how God has worked through their financial journey.
After the share-out, groups can choose to start a new cycle, welcoming new members and setting fresh goals. Others continue meeting for fellowship and Bible study to deepen the strong relationships and spiritual growth built over the previous months.
A new chapter for groups in Benin
Whenever a program in the HOPE network, like Benin, celebrates its first groups’ share-outs, it’s an especially meaningful milestone. The first share-outs signify a healthy foundation for the savings group ministry, faithful work from our local team, and strong collaboration with our church partners.
We officially began serving in Benin in late 2023 alongside the Assemblies of God Church of Benin and the Union of Baptist Churches of Benin. We built a team of capable local staff, trained dozens of church leaders and volunteers to launch savings groups, and supported fledgling groups as they began to meet, pray, and save together.
And soon, God helped the ministry grow.
As of August 2025, we were supporting 3,800+ Beninese savings group members across 195 active savings groups—in partnership with 100+ local churches. Praise God that so many families in Benin are experiencing the joy and support of savings groups.
As groups in Benin celebrate their first share-outs, we thank God for the months of hard work it took each member to get there. It takes courage and trust to pool your savings with a group and loan those shared savings to others. It also requires discipline and faith to set aside savings each week—we know that many of these families are living under the global poverty line of less than $3 (U.S.) a day. Praise God for providing the strength these groups needed!
Now, as the Beninese savings groups we serve look to the future with a successful savings cycle under their belt, we invite you to pray. Ask that the confidence and joy of their share-outs would propel them forward to continue saving, investing in their dreams, and growing in faith.
To learn more about HOPE’s savings groups model, browse our FAQs. For more background on the context, goals, and team of our program in Benin, read this blog post or this Q&A with Yvette, the program’s country director.
