In West Africa they are called "tontines" and mostly women subscribe, although men do have their own, and it's often a neighborhood ritual involving a get-together over tea, food and dancing, and can also be targeted around a specific activity (baptisms, marriages). Although an easy and convivial way to raise short-term capital, if they are involved in many tontines at one time and it is not their "turn" to receive the pot, or "caisse", it can sometimes drain the woman's spending cash. The more financially sustainable option is formal microfinance methods, such as credit and savings mutuals, where women get a loan and pay interest. There are loans for groups which women in West Africa tend to gravitate to from the tontine structure, once they have better organized themselves as a group (with a President, Secretary, Treasurer, etc).
For more information on these different types of credit systems, visit www.PlaNetfinance.org ---------------------- C. Sara Minard Development Perspectives Unit Sahel and West Africa Club, OECD 4 Boulevard des Iles Batiment A - 3eme etage 92130 Issy-Les-Moulineaux Direct Tel: +33(0)1 45 24 84 83 Fax: +33 (0)1 45 24 90 31 On 1/19/05, Sam Lanfranco <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The scheme the Nigerian farmer is involved in is referred to as "the > box" in some cultures. Typically 12 people are involved, each > contributes the same amount each month and each month, in a prearranged > order, one member gets the total take of 12 times the monthly "deposit". > It is a form of savings scheme that requires no administrative skills, > and peer group pressure to keep people paying in on time. It is easy to > modify the scheme for a different number of participants. > > I have seen the scheme used where individuals arrange bilateral swaps of > withdrawal times, to avoid being "cash rich" at the wrong time, and > getting the cash flow at the appropriate time. ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
