Microcredit, money transfers, women, and the Cameroon diaspora

The paper introduces the topic of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) and several other forms of microcredit institutions, variations of which are found in most communities around the world, and considers the impact on them of the current financial crisis. For many women and men, poor and wealthy alike, these institutions have been economic and social lifelines. Among many African peoples, they provide the main source of rural and urban credit, both for sustainable living and entrepreneurial endeavour. This paper draws on the experience of contemporary Cameroonians, including those in the diaspora, in particular that of Dr Bridget Teboh. Social anthropologists have espoused ROSCAs for many decades. This paper cites the increasing attention such institutions now get from governments, NGOs, bankers and economists, and considers the impact of the current worldwide financial crisis on the behaviour of those who save in them.