Saving for a rainy day – in alternative ways: part 2
Saving for a rainy day – in alternative ways: part 2
- December 28, 2015
- Research by IMTFI fellows Sibel Kusimba and Nithya Joseph are featured in The Guardian December 28, 2015
From the Guardian:
Part 2 looks at Kenya’s mobile-based grand matriarchal brokerage system and women
using gold as a credit source; and explains how banks can better serve the poor and
women.
IMTFI Fellow and anthropologist Sibel Kusimba found that an interesting savings method
has emerged from this trend: women, grandmothers in particular, work as brokers to
recirculate mobile money funds in ways that benefit their entire families. “Kenyan
women see themselves as responsible for others in their family, church and community
– providing this security to others brings them prestige. Through reciprocity, they
can rely on these people when needing that assistance. This social relationship is
a form of savings.” Gold and other precious metals have also long performed as a credit
source. At the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI), researcher
Nithya Joseph traced gold as a form of savings in a silk-reeling town in Karnataka,
India. "That gold continually rises in value makes the metal an ongoing attractive
form of savings for this community," Joseph says. "Pawnbrokers are often family-run
businesses, so interactions between broker and seller become tight. Even nationalized
and private banks offer loans against gold as a service, while other companies have
formed around gold-based loans," she says.
For the full story, please visit http://www.theguardian.com/visa-partner-zone/2015/dec/28/saving-for-a-rainy-day-in-alternative-ways-part-2.
Share on:
connect with us