British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 34 February 2012, Vol. 4 (1) © 2011 British Journals ISSN 2048-1268 Business Development Services and Economic Development through Community Savings Re-investment Approach Dr. Nadeem Akhtar Nadeem.akhtar@yuc.edu.sa Department of Management Studies Yanbu University College, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia Muhammad Nauman Khan nkhan1@ksu.edu.sa Department of Finance, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Abstract In the last few decades, microcredit has become the predominant strategy for alleviating poverty from the world, while micro savings and all other forms of business development services have been overlooked. This paper will assess the need for business development services and their growing importance among rural households of financial services including micro savings, payment services and remittances. The study aims at revealing the constraints that the rural poor people face other than finance such as access to markets, price information and skills training. Keywords: Financial Services; Non-financial Services; Micro savings; Business Development Services; Community Savings JEL classification: (O16, P36, R51, I32) 1. Introduction “Microcredit is not appropriate for everyone or in every situation. The destitute and hungry that have no income or means of repayment need other forms of support before they can make use of loans. In many cases, small grants, infrastructure improvements, employment, training programs, and other non-financial services may be more appropriate tools for poverty alleviation. Wherever possible, such non-financial services should be coupled with building savings.” (CGAP, 2004) The financial system that was started decades ago by providing microcredit to women acknowledges women as the forgotten half of the poor. The last decade had to face many questions and development strategies as microcredit moved on to microfinance. By providing microcredit to the poor; it was recognized that the poor are the forgotten half of the population; landless women were better qualified for loans than male land owners, likewise informal business was recognized as the forgotten half of economy. Practitioners and academics started to question why the poor only need microcredit and do not need other financial services like micro savings. This critical questioning was an acknowledgment to micro savings as the „forgotten half of microfinance‟. Why cannot the poor enjoy individual