Understanding Social Relations and Payments Among the Poor in Ethiopia
Abstract
Most studies of mobile money for the poor focus narrowly on questions of technical design and pay little attention to the various needs of the poor and their complex relationships with money and financial services. In order to fill the current knowledge gap and to better inform the design of new mobile money systems for the purpose of financial inclusion, this study investigates social relationships and payment practices among the poor in rural Ethiopia. A study of existing payment practices in Ethiopia is pertinent especially given the recent proliferation of various mobile money initiatives. Two key questions face mobile money professionals and scholars of financial inclusion alike: How will these mobile money initiatives reach out to the local population? How will they incorporate existing (albeit unbanked) financial practices? This paper aims to lay the ground for designing mobile money products and services that cater to local institutions and practices. The paper, therefore, explores the social dynamics of various local financial practices—informal savings and loans institutions, monetary and non-monetary gifts, and payments to people with power and to deities.