In a world where access to finance still eludes over a billion people, milestones like this tell a different story. DreamSave, the award-winning mobile app by DreamStart Labs, has now recorded more than $25 million in savings and loan transactions, proof that when technology meets trust, inclusion scales.

DreamStart Labs is a social impact fintech helping people in the developing world achieve financial independence and lasting opportunity through simple, human-centered digital solutions. The company was founded on a belief that innovation should not begin in boardrooms, but in communities, with tools that mirror the realities of people who live without reliable internet, bank accounts, or credit history.

At its heart, DreamSave is a free digital companion for savings groups, small, self-managed communities where members pool money, lend to one another, and build financial safety nets together. Traditionally, these groups operate with handwritten ledgers and lockboxes, leaving records vulnerable to loss or error. DreamSave replaces paper with digital transparency, allowing members to record savings, manage loans, track social funds, and view progress in real time. Even in remote villages with little or no connectivity, the app works offline and syncs securely when a signal becomes available.

Behind the numbers is a quiet transformation happening across villages, cooperatives, and women’s groups. What once lived in fragile notebooks now exists in a transparent, digital ecosystem — giving communities visibility, security, and a sense of ownership over their financial futures. For many, DreamSave isn’t just an app; it’s their first digital record, their first sense of financial identity, their first proof that technology can work for them.

From a single village group to more than 30,000 groups across 34 countries, DreamSave has become a quiet revolution in financial inclusion, helping nearly 600,000 members, most of them women, turn discipline into opportunity. In countries from Kenya to Cambodia, Rwanda to Sri Lanka, these groups are proving that financial literacy and technology can grow hand in hand, creating self-sustaining networks of trust and empowerment.

“Our organization is built on social impact and empowering communities,” said Henrik Esbensen, CEO of DreamStart Labs. “That’s why DreamSave is completely free, even though we built it with world-class technology that can work anywhere, even under a tree in a rural village. DreamSave works offline to mirror the realities of the people we’re trying to reach, and every transaction recorded tells a story of progress and resilience.”

The impact of that design choice extends far beyond convenience. According to research from Opportunity International, which piloted DreamSave among savings groups in Africa, digital recordkeeping through the app improved transparency, reduced human error, and strengthened trust within groups. Meeting times shortened by an average of 17 minutes, attendance improved, and members, 70% of whom were women, reported greater confidence in managing loans and tracking repayments. For many, that meant more time for farming, entrepreneurship, and family life.

These shifts reveal the deeper promise of inclusive technology: that when people are given the right tools, they not only adapt but thrive. In regions where financial systems overlook the informal economy, DreamSave is becoming a bridge linking the world’s most excluded communities to formal systems of value without stripping away their autonomy.

Every product at DreamStart Labs is guided by five commitments: financial inclusion, women’s empowerment, poverty alleviation, data privacy, and consumer protection. Together, they form the foundation of a fintech model built not on disruption, but on dignity, one that designs with people, not for them.

This commitment aligns closely with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). Every new DreamSave group contributes to these goals in real terms — by improving access to safe credit, empowering women-led enterprises, and helping communities reinvest earnings into education, agriculture, and local trade.

For example, in East Africa, savings groups using DreamSave have reported increases in household income and more stable cash flow during seasonal downturns. In Sri Lanka, artisans and small traders are using the app to access short-term group loans that fund inventory and expand production. These are small shifts with compounding power, the kind of ripple effects that global financial systems often overlook but communities feel every day.

DreamStart Labs believes the future of finance will not be built solely by banks or apps, but by people, by the millions who save together each week, share risk, and invest in one another’s dreams. By digitizing those systems without displacing their human core, DreamSave is proving that inclusion is not charity, it’s strategy.

As DreamSave continues to grow, one truth remains constant: inclusion is not a feature. It’s a promise. And this milestone is just the beginning of what that promise can achieve.

Media & Partnership Enquiries:
Omotola Sanni
Marketing & Communications Manager
DreamStart Labs
info@dreamstartlabs.com, omotola@dreamstartlabs.com