First published in 2024, The Banker Ladies is now available as an open access publication from the University of Toronto Press at bit.ly/4d7tus2
In this absorbing book, Caroline Shenaz Hossein (pictured) tells the story of the informal co-operative banks and rotating savings and credit associations (Roscas) used by the African diaspora, and of the women who run them.
Rosca is the term used by academics to collectively describe these informal banking institutions, while their members around the world use a range of names depending on their geographic and cultural context, such as the Jamaican Pardner, Peruvian Juntas or Egyptian Gameeyaa. The term Susu is used in Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St. Vincent, while Hagbad, Shalongo, Ayuuto are used in Somalia.
Members of such groups regularly pay in, and take turns to receive a payout for whatever they might want or need, such as their children’s education, commemorating life events, or emergencies.
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