Prelims

Half Title Page

Transforming Africa

Title Page

Transforming Africa: How Savings Groups Foster Financial Inclusion, Resilience and Economic Development

Edited by

Dana T. Redford

Policy Experimentation & Evaluation Platform (PEEP), Portugal

University of California, Berkeley, USA

And

Grietjie Verhoef

University of Johannesburg, South Africa and Monash University, Australia

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2022

Editorial matter and selection © 2022 Dana T. Redford and Grietjie Verhoef. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Individual chapters © 2022 the authors. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Cover credit for original illustration © Ricardo Cabral.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80262-054-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80262-053-5 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80262-055-9 (Epub)

Dedication

To the savings group leaders across Africa who are helping to lead their communities in this time and always.

About the Contributors ¹

Dana T. Redford (Editor/Conceptual Chapter) is Founder & President of the Policy Experimentation & Evaluation Platform (PEEP) based in Lisbon, Portugal and Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies at UC-Berkeley. His research interests include entrepreneurship, sustainability, education and development studies.

Grietjie Verhoef (Editor/South Africa) is Professor at the University of Johannesburg and Adjunct Professor Monash University, Australia. She has published extensively on banking and financial development in Africa, as well as on voluntary savings organizations.

James Atta Peprah (Conceptual Chapter) is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Economics, School of Economics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His research interests include development finance, microfinance, enterprise development and access to credit among people living with disability.

George Muruka (Conceptual Chapter) is an Independent Development Finance Consultant based in Kenya working with NGOs, banks, and MFIs on pro-poor products. His research interests include community finance, agriculture value chains integration and social entrepreneurship.

Lenora Biche (Conceptual Chapter) is a Junior Researcher at PEEP and student at John Cabot University. Her research interests include African fashion, education, and entrepreneurship.

Christian Wolf (Conceptual Chapter) is a Senior Researcher at PEEP and member of CEsA - Centre for African and Development Studies at the University of Lisbon. His research interests include entrepreneurship and financial inclusion.

Katherine Rickard (Conceptual Chapter) is an Advisor in women empowerment and inclusive finance. Her research interests include payment digitization, enterprise development, agriculture value chains and savings-led solutions having worked for UNCDF, World Bank, FCDO, BMGF, SEEP Network and CARE International.

Sakola Djika Ali (Burkina Faso) is a Lecturer and Researcher at Thomas Sankara University. His research interests include entrepreneurship and microfinance.

Sako Siembou (Burkina Faso) is a civil servant at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Crafts of Burkina Faso.

Cyrille Michel Bertand Onomo (Cameroon) is Lecturer at the University of Douala where he teaches finance. He is Secretary General of the CERAME (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche Africaines en Management et Entrepreneuriat) at the ESSEC Business School of Douala.

Raphaël Nkakleu (Cameroon) is Professor at the University of Douala, and Director of the CERAME (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche Africaines en Management et Entrepreneuriat) at the ESSEC Business School of Douala.

João António Furtado Brito (Cape Verde) is Professor at University of Cabo Verde and holds a PhD in Economics. His research interests include economic growth and development, development of small island countries and financial economies.

Deogratias Bugandwa Mungu Akonkwa (DRC) is Full Professor in the Faculty of Economics and Management, Catholic University of Bukavu and University of Goma. His research areas include microfinance institutions and the governance of higher education institutions.

Eddy Balemba Kanyurhi (DRC) is Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Catholic University of Bukavu and Institut Supérieur de Commerce (Goma); and Invited Researcher at Center for European Research in Microfinance. His research fields are marketing of microfinance institutions and women entrepreneurship.

Guillaume Bidubula Juwa (DRC) is Lecturer at Catholic University of Bukavu, and General Manager of the provincial hospital. He has published on micro-insurance and group lending performance.

Albert Masheka Hongo (DRC) has a Msc. in Finance and Accountancy (Catholic University of Bukavu). He works as Budgeting and Management Officer at World Health Organization. He specialises in village savings and loans associations.

Konjit Hailu Gudeta (Ethiopia) is a Researcher at Maastricht University and an Assistant Professor at Addis Ababa University. Her research interests include wellbeing, decent work, women entrepreneurship, work-life experiences and savings groups.

Atsede Tesfaye Hailemariam (Ethiopia) is an Assistant Professor in School of Commerce at Addis Ababa University where she teaches project and operations management and statistics. Her research interests include women entrepreneurship and innovation.

Bantie Workie Gessese (Ethiopia) is an Associate Professor of Business Leadership in the School of Commerce at Addis Ababa University and Consultant in the areas of Human Resource and Social Performance Management. His research interest includes corporate performance and quality management.

Christopher Boachie (Ghana) is Lecturer at Central University, Ghana. He received his education in Ghana, Germany, UK and Malaysia. His research interest is in microfinance, financial markets, corporate social responsibility and development finance.

Eunice A. Adu-Darko (Ghana) is a development finance economist. She is an academic with research interests in econometrics, financial sector development, microfinance, institutional quality, and the finance of the extractive industries.

Ismael Mendes de Medina (Guinea-Bissau) is a Guinea-Bissau and Portuguese qualified lawyer with 15 years of experience practicing law. He began his career in Miranda Law Firm in Lisbon and is Co-Founder and Head of the GB Legal office in Bissau.

Filipa Monteiro (Guinea-Bissau) is a Portuguese qualified lawyer with over 20 years of experience with expertise in African capital markets and M&A transactions. For Miranda Alliance she advises companies in a wide range of sectors related to their operations in Africa.

Ana Pinelas Pinto (Guinea-Bissau) is a Portuguese qualified lawyer with over 20 years of experience. She is Co-Founder of the GB Legal office within the Miranda Alliance and has been the Supervising Partner for Guinea-Bissau for the past 15 years.

David Mathuva (Kenya) is Senior Lecturer and Director, Undergraduate Programmes at Strathmore University Business School. Previously, David worked at KPMG Kenya in the Risk Consulting department. He currently serves as a board member in a mid-sized financial cooperative.

Graham Sherbut (Mozambique) is an independent researcher and was previously the Director of Monitoring, Evaluation & Research with the Aga Khan Foundation in Mozambique and Madagascar.

Tiago Borges Coelho (Mozambique) is a social entrepreneur and founder of UX Information Technologies. His research interests include digital platforms, financial services, civic engagement and environmental preservation.

Eugénio Gujamo (Mozambique) is a lecturer and researcher at Universidade Zambeze. His research interests include informal saving systems, organizational behaviour, gender-based violence, masculinity and HIV/AIDS.

Ogechi Adeola (Nigeria) is an Associate Professor in Marketing at Lagos Business School, Nigeria. Her research interests include marketing, financial services and gender in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ifedapo Adeleye (Nigeria) is an Associate Professor of Practice at Georgetown University, USA. His research interests include financial services management in Africa and global human resources, diversity and compensation.

Garzali Muhammed (Nigeria) is a Strategy and Policy Development Specialist at the Central Bank of Nigeria and is a seconded expert to the Nirsal Microfinance Bank, where he is a Senior Special Advisor to the Managing Director.

Babalola Josiah Olajubu (Nigeria) is the Lead Psychologist at Olive Prime Psychological Centre. His research interests include SMEs and indigenous business practices.

Chijioke Oji (Nigeria) is Research Fellow at the University of Waterloo and teaches at Conestoga College, Canada. His research interests include the intersection of policy and finance within a global context.

Oserere Ibelegbu (Nigeria) is a Research Assistant at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. Her research interests include consumer behavioural studies and service quality.

Edoé Djimitri Agbodjan (Senegal) is Lecturer and Researcher at CESAG, and Coordinator of the CESAG and MasterCard Foundation's co-financed project on capacity building for financial inclusion. His research areas include financial inclusion and results-based project management.

Mawuli Couchoro (Togo) is Professor at Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion (FASEG) of the University of Lomé in Togo.

Germain Lankoande (Senegal) is a PhD candidate in Economics at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. His research interests include development finance, financial inclusion and inclusive growth.

Karen Hidden (South Africa) is an Independent Researcher and works with various non-profit organisations. Her research interests include inclusive innovation, corporate sustainability and entrepreneurship and social innovation.

Vincent Bagire (Uganda) is Associate Professor at MUBS. His teaching/research areas are management, strategy, organizational theory and corporate strategy. Currently he studies managerial practices in the public sector, civil society and SMEs.

Sheila Namagembe (Uganda) is an Associate Professor at MUBS. She has researched and published in areas of sustainability, energy and management.

Disclaimer

Although diligence, fact checking and review has been used in the writing of this publication, some errors and omissions might still be present. Furthermore, it is emphasized that this publication is for research and academic purposes only. It is not intended to be relied upon from a regulatory perspective, nor should it serve as a base for financial, legal, or business-related decisions.