Social Capital Formation in Community Savings Groups: Bonding, Bridging, and Linking Capital in Conflict-Affected South Sudan

This article examines how Community Group Saving and Lending (CGSL) mechanisms generate bonding, bridging and linking social capital in conflict-affected rural South Sudan. It converts a doctoral thesis on CGSL mechanisms in Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei and Lakes States into a journal-style social capital analysis. The article draws on a mixed-methods study conducted between 2022 and 2025, with 81 valid survey responses from 85 targeted respondents and 17 qualitative interviews. Descriptive findings showed that CGSLs were strongly perceived as member-managed entities, alternatives for poor households, savings mobilisation platforms and sources of credit for agricultural investment. The highest social-capital-relevant scores related to government and donor collaboration (mean = 4.41), small savings and savings/loan alternatives for the poor (mean = 4.32), and CGSL participation in savings mobilisation (mean = 4.28). Inferential findings reported significant associations between CGSL participation and agricultural productivity indicators, with chi-square values of 15.92 and p = 0.0001. Logistic regression also showed that access to credit significantly influenced technology investment decisions (β = 1.9459, p = 0.026). The article argues that CGSLs are not only financial devices but also local institutions that rebuild trust, widen horizontal economic cooperation and link rural communities to NGOs, donors and public actors. However, linking capital remains weaker and more uneven than bonding capital, leaving groups vulnerable to low loan size, external dependency and limited long-term finance. The article recommends upgrading CGSLs through transparent governance, federated networks, gender-sensitive participation, agricultural extension partnerships and better-designed credit products.