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Sarafu Community Inclusion Currency 2020–2021
Title / Series / Name
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Authors
Mattsson, Carolina E.S.
Criscione, Teodoro
Ruddick, William O.
Criscione, Teodoro
Ruddick, William O.
Editors
Keywords
Statistics and Probability
Information Systems
Education
Computer Science Applications
Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty
Library and Information Sciences
Information Systems
Education
Computer Science Applications
Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty
Library and Information Sciences
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/27726
Abstract
We describe a dataset of account information and detailed transaction records for a digital complementary currency in Kenya. This “Sarafu system” initially encompassed several local, physical community currencies, which began transitioning to a feature-phone mobile interface in 2017. One unit of “Sarafu” is roughly equivalent in value to a Kenyan shilling. The published data includes anonymized account information for around 55,000 users and records of all Sarafu transactions conducted from January 25, 2020 to June 15, 2021. Transactions totaling around 300 million Sarafu capture various economic and financial activities such as purchases, transfers, and participation in savings and lending groups. So-called “chamas” are key to the operation of the Sarafu system and many such groups are labeled in the data. Describing this data contributes to research on the operation of community currencies, monetary systems, and economic networks in marginalized, food insecure areas. The observation period includes the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and several documented pilot projects and interventions.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2022-12
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1038/s41597-022-01539-4