The Banker Ladies

The Banker Ladies tells the stories of Ginelle, Aisha and Mabinty, three Black women in Toronto creating diverse financial services for their communities through Rotating Saving and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). Known by cultural names these self-managed money collectives function at the intersection of the social and business and are fundamentally anchored in reciprocity, trust and community development. Based on professor Caroline Shenaz Hossein's research, the film posits that there is a Black Social Economy in which ROSCAs are at its very core. Though hidden in the social economy ROSCAs contribute to Canada's legacy of mutual aid and economic cooperation.

Canada has a rich history of corporativism, and Canadian policymakers are called on to support solidarity economies, and to ensure there is space for Black cooperators by creating a Global ROSCA Network. Valuing these informal cooperative institutions, and acknowledging the expertise of Banker Ladies, will help build an inclusive economy, bridge the gap of inequity in Canada, and by extension revolutionize Canadian international development policy.