Community Currencies: Grassroots Financial Innovations for Inclusive Economic Growth

The project investigates the governance practices, impacts and diffusion of grassroots innovations, which are developing financial and monetary infrastructures for inclusive economic growth in urban informal settlements in African countries. It is informed by the case of community currencies in the informal settlements of Kenya’s three major cities (Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu). Running throughout four years (2019-2023), the project uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, all within a participatory action research approach. The project brings together monetary and grassroots innovation studies in interdisciplinary research, contributing to the development and diffusion of financial and monetary infrastructures for urban informal settlements, and indicating a novel route for social enterprise and development aid.

The research project builds on collaborations with resident associations and community-based organisations in three informal settlements in Kisumu, the Kisumu County Council as well as Jaramogi University (JOOUST, Kenya), Copenhagen Business School (CBS, Denmark), Lund University and University of Gothenburg (Sweden). The research collaboration is led by Ester Barinaga (CBS & Lund University).