‍

For episode 249 of the Crypto Altruists podcast, we’re excited to welcome Alinagwe Mwaselela, Director of JUKUMU TZ, and Coleen Chase, Co-Founder of The Solar Foundation. This is a continuation of our recent conversation exploring the work of The Solar Foundation and their partners in Tanzania. In part one, we looked at the partnership from a higher level, and today, we're going to the ground level, hearing directly from someone who works with close to 300 savings groups across Tanzania.

Savings circles, also known as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations or ROSCAs, are one of humanity's oldest and most enduring financial tools. They were documented in China as far back as 200 BCE, and today they exist in virtually every corner of the world. According to the World Bank, around 25% of people in sub-Saharan Africa have participated in a savings club.

The concept is simple: a group of people agree to contribute a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, and at each meeting, the entire pooled sum goes to one member. The process rotates until everyone has received a payout, and then the cycle can begin again.

What's remarkable is that these systems operate without contracts, without interest rates, without credit checks. They're built entirely on trust, solidarity, and collective commitment.

And they go by hundreds of names around the world: tandas in Latin America, chamas in East Africa, susus in West Africa and the Caribbean, chit funds in India, stokvels in South Africa, equb in Ethiopia, hui in Chinese communities, paluwagan in the Philippines, pardna in the Caribbean. I’m sorry if I incorrectly pronounced any of those names; I wanted to show how widely they have been used around the world, with systems often being developed in parallel, independent from each othe. There are many different names and nuanced approaches, but they all follow the same powerful principle: people helping people save.

For me, this is where it gets interesting for Web3. We talk a lot about decentralized coordination, about community governance, about building systems that don't rely on centralized authorities. But communities have been doing this for thousands of years. Savings circles, like co-ops, are in many ways original DAOs: decentralized, community-governed, built on trust and mutual accountability.

What Web3 offers isn't a replacement for these traditions. It's an opportunity to enhance them. Digital tools can help with record-keeping, transparency, and coordination across distance. Stablecoins and mobile payments can make it easier to participate. Smart contracts could provide additional layers of trust and automation. And it’s certainly caught on, with Web3 projects like Bread Cooperative, Esusu, Haraka, Grassroots Economics, and more, exploring the intersection of Web3 and savings circles. But the foundation, the human relationships, the solidarity, the collective commitment, that's already there. That's been there for millennia.

In today’s episode you’ll discover:

🌍 The powerful history of savings circles, a form of mutual aid and decentralized coordination that communities have practiced for thousands of years.

☀️ How JUKUMU TZ is working with close to 300 savings groups across Tanzania, and how they’re partnering with The Solar Foundation to test new delivery models.

💻 Their recent success winning Best Overall Concept in the IEEE Connecting the Unconnected Challenge, and how this is helping bring solar-powered internet and a computer lab to the JUKUMU community hub.

🔗 How traditional savings practices are blending with new technologies to help communities coordinate and grow

‍

Key Takeaways

🌍 Savings circles are one of humanity's oldest and most enduring financial tools: Long before banks, fintech apps, or credit cards, communities around the world developed savings circles as a way to pool resources, support each other, and achieve goals they couldn't reach alone. They're built on trust, solidarity, and collective commitment, with no contracts, no interest rates, and no credit checks. For those of us in Web3, savings circles are a powerful reminder that decentralized coordination and community governance aren't new inventions. Communities have been doing this for over 2,000 years.

📱 Technology can enhance savings circles without replacing what makes them work: Digital tools offer real opportunities to strengthen savings circles: easier coordination across distance, transparent record-keeping, streamlined communication, and greater accountability. Mobile apps, digital hubs, and stablecoins can help groups track contributions, manage commitments, and build trust at scale. But the key word is enhance, not replace. The foundation of savings circles, the human relationships, the mutual accountability, the collective commitment, that's already there. Technology works best when it serves these traditions rather than trying to reinvent them.

🤝 Decentralized leadership builds trust and scales impact: One of the reasons JUKUMU TZ has been so successful is their train-the-trainer model and use of Digital Community Based Trainers, or DCBTs. Rather than relying on outside experts, they leverage community leaders and champions who already have trust and credibility within their networks. These trainers understand local context, speak the language, and can meet people where they are. It's a decentralized approach to capacity building, and it's a model Web3 projects could learn from. Sustainable change doesn't come from the top down. It comes from empowering local leaders to drive progress in their own communities.

‍

Follow our guests and The Solar Foundation

• Twitter/X - JUKUMU, TZ
• Instagram - JUKUMU, TZ
• Twitter/X - Coleen
• Twitter/X - The Solar Foundation
• Website - The Solar Foundation
• Alinagwe's Interview with Nathan Schneider

‍

Episode Time Stamps:

01:30 - An introduction to the historyof Savings Circles.

05:15 - Alinagwe, thank you so much forjoining us. To start, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey?How did you come to lead JUKUMU TZ?

08:50 - Can you give us an introductionto the mission of JUKUMU TZ and the problems your organization is trying tosolve?

12:05 - At the core of your work aresavings groups, a powerful tool that communities have used for centuries. Canyou describe what these groups look like and how they operate?

20:45 - The Solar Savings Circlesproject provides solar lanterns as the first asset for many of these groups.What does it mean for a group to have an asset like this for the first time,and how are they using the lanterns to save and build their businesses?

27:30 - Can you please share more about JUKUMU’sunique train the trainer model with Digital Community Based Trainers (DCBTs)?

30:40 - The Solar Savings Circlesproject is bringing together traditional savings practices with newtechnologies like digital tracking and mobile tools. How do you see technologyshaping the way these communities coordinate and grow?

39:10 - Your collaboration with The SolarFoundation & NEDA Labs recently won the IEEE Connecting the UnconnectedChallenge for the concept of a Solar-Powered Community Broadband Network. Partof this concept is building a computer lab at the JUKUMU hub. Can you tell us how this reliable, high-qualityinternet and computer lab will matter and what it means for the community?

47:05 - For people listening around theworld who want to support this work or connect with JUKUMU, what would you wantthem to know? Where can they go to learn more?

49:40 - Is there a specific story ormoment that sticks with you, one that really demonstrates the impact of yourwork?