Sarafu Community Inclusion Currency, 2020-2021

Ruddick, William O. (2023). Sarafu Community Inclusion Currency, 2020-2021. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-855142

Data description (abstract)

We describe a dataset of account information and transaction records for a digital community currency in Kenya. One unit of “Sarafu” is roughly equivalent in value to a Kenyan shilling. The Sarafu system has existed since 2010 and began operating digitally via USSD feature-code cellular technology in 2017. This dataset includes pseudonymized account information for around 55,000 users and records of all Sarafu transactions conducted from 25/01/2020 to 15/06/2021. User transactions 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 clearly labeled in the data. This dataset will contribute to research on the operation of community currencies, monetary systems, and economic networks in underdeveloped areas. The observation period includes the first year of the coronavirus pandemic and several documented pilot projects and development interventions.

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Ruddick William O.	Grassroots Economics Foundation	https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9798-2829

Contributors:

Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Criscione Teodoro	Central European University	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3953-8679
Mattsson C.E.S.	Leiden University	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9160-7523

Sponsors:

Innovation Norway, Danish Red Cross, Stichting DOEN, Kenyan Red Cross, Norweigan Red Cross

Topic classification:

Social welfare policy and systems
Science and technology
Economics
Trade, industry and markets

Keywords:

MONEY, CURRENCIES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, MOBILE PHONE SERVICES

Project title:

Community Inclusion Currencies

Grant holders:

Grassroots Economics Foundation, William O. Ruddick, Shaila Agha

Project dates:

From	To
25 January 2020	15 June 2021

Date published:

31 Aug 2021 13:50

Last modified:

03 Aug 2023 11:06

Coverage and Methodology

Temporal coverage:

From	To
25 January 2020	15 June 2021

Collection period:

Date from:	Date to:
25 January 2020	15 June 2021

Geographical area:

Kwale, Nairobi, Mombasa, Nyanza, Kilifi, and other rural areas

Country:

Kenya

Data collection method:

Information about account holders and digital transaction records are collected by Grassroots Economics, a Kenyan nonprofit, in the routine administration of the Sarafu system. Users interact with the community currency over a USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) interface, secure behind a personal authentication code. The core functionalities are creating an account, updating account information, checking a balance, and making Sarafu transactions to other accounts. These are accessible via feature-code menus from most mobile phones over regular cellular service. During the observation period, from 25/01/2020 to 15/06/2021, a PostgreSQL database as well as xDAI blockchain recorded activity generated via four administrative processes: account creation, routine transactions, algorithmic currency management, and ad-hoc administrative tasks.

Observation unit:

Individual, Group

Kind of data:

Numeric, Text

Type of data:

Experimental data , Other surveys

Resource language:

English

Access and Administration

Data sourcing, processing and preparation:

Information about account holders was extracted from the administrative database on 15/06/2021; this is the Users dataset. Also extracted were all Sarafu transactions conducted between 25/01/2020 and 15/06/2021; this is the Transactions dataset. During the routine administration of the Sarafu system new users are given an anonymous identifier. In creating their account, new users are asked their gender, their topic of business, and their area of residence. These user-generated entries are standardized and aggregated by staff at Grassroots Economics. In post-processing, personal identifying information and idiosyncratic, user-generated fields were removed. A number of additional steps were taken to mitigate the risk of user re-identification and to technically validate the transaction data. To avoid sharing overly unique user characteristics, only broad geographic areas are reported. Counties with fewer than 100 Sarafu users are combined into broader localities and more detailed localities are reported only when they encompass more than 1000 users. The transaction records (from 25/01/2020 to 15/06/2021) were validated against the final account balances obtained on 15/06/2021. The discrepancy in amount was 3,271 Sarafu, or 0.00091% of the total transacted. The final balance was unavailable for 8 accounts and misrecorded for 80 accounts; this corresponds to 0.16% of Sarafu users. The transaction dataset references only the anonymous identifiers and thus contains no personal identifying information, on its own.

Rights owners: