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Spark Microgrants

A woman in a patterned headwrap points to hand-drawn community maps and diagrams displayed on a wall while a group of people sit and listen.
Elected community facilitators, half of whom are women, are trained to lead the village planning process in their communities. © Spark.

Across rural Malawi, communities are drawing on their own knowledge, leadership and ideas to shape local development. 

Spark Microgrants helps turn their priorities into action through inclusive village planning and direct village grants. Residents determine their shared priorities, develop plans and manage the resources to deliver them. Women, young people and people often excluded from local decision-making take active roles, helping ensure each community’s plans reflect its wider aspirations. 

Working with Malawian community-based organisations, Spark will bring this approach to 100 villages in Kasungu and Zomba, reaching an estimated 33,000 people. Evidence from the pilot will inform an anticipated next phase with the Government of Malawi and the World Bank, including testing how inclusive village planning could be integrated into district systems, giving communities a stronger role in local development. Learn more about Spark Microgrants on its website.

A woman addresses a community gathering outdoors, surrounded by people seated together on a grassy hillside.
Communities launch communal savings, investments controlled by the village. © Spark.
Community members gather around a group of pigs on a rural path, holding ropes as part of a livestock distribution.
Communities collectively identify projects to achieve their development goals. © Spark.
country Africa, Malawi
theme Leadership and Voice

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