ROSCA and ASCRA: Beyond the Financial Landscape

Demonstrates the ability of financial self-help groups, ROSCAs and ASCRAs, to adapt to changing environments. Provides case study examples from Cameroon, Senegal and Nigeria. Outlines:

• Differences in basic design features between Rotating and Accumulating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs and ASCRAs);
• Institutional characteristics and multi-functional nature of these two types of associations;
• Evolutionary analysis reflecting changes in the broader economic, social and political context: for example, how these associations adapted to a massive influx of migrants.

Proposes that studying the evolution of financial mutual aid in context can open new avenues for fruitful exploration and show that these indigenous self-help models work.