•  Grassroots Economics has so far paved the way for 14 different communities in Kitui
• The software creates a community-based economy where the currency runs the projects, businesses, and the exchange of goods and services. 
• This is set to lead the way in poverty eradication and economic development

An announcement made by Grassroots Economics (GE) during the launch of the Sarafu Community Token, indicated a dire need for blockchain and Community Inclusion Currencies adoption.

The management emphasized the importance of creating individual vouchers on an entirely independent Blockchain system (Kitabu).

The humanitarian allied Blockchain-enabled technology, Kitabu, the system will not require payment for gas fees.

GE has so far paved the way for 14 different communities in Kitui, Kenya, to publicly launch their Community Inclusion Currencies (CICs) using the new software.

What is the gameplay?

The company claims that CICs provide a platform and means of exchange of goods and services between people. The management also affirmed that through this software, projects and businesses can be incubated without relying on scarce national fiat currency and the volatility of markets.

The software creates a community-based economy where the Sarafu currency runs the projects, businesses, and the exchange of goods and services. A combination of at least 20 businesses, service providers, teachers, and farmers in the locality have enrolled for this transformational idea.

The involved parties have also decided on the symbol and the name of their Community Inclusion Currency and a unit of account as well. 

The specified units of accounts that the local members use are water, onions, tomatoes, eggs, and transport. The market value of these units of accounts is such that for every one CIC an approximate value of 10 Kenyan shillings is exchanged for all goods and services.

For the CIC issuing groups within the communities, each member is committed to redeeming the currency of a certain proportion of goods and services. Grassroots Economics indicates that CICs act as a means of exchange at the regional levels and are directly obtained from supplement gaps and vouchers within the current fiat currency system.

Due to the volatility of markets and financial instability, residents often lack fiat money for the direct exchange of goods and services hence limiting their purchasing power. However, prospering communities can forge their thriving economies using CICs.

Community Inclusion Currencies in the Kenyan Market

Grassroots Economics has also made partnerships with communities in Cameroon and South Africa to propel the CIC movement. Several other CICs will be launched in a few months.

GE in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross and the Danish Red Cross has been launching the CIC initiatives in Kenya since May 2020 with the opening of the Mukuru and Kisauni CIC projects. 

During the pandemic, the Sarafu currency helped both Kisauni and Mukuru communities attain a total trade net worth of $ 383,000. 

CIC project, financed by Innovation Norway through the Norwegian Red Cross and Danish Red Cross, is set to lead the way in poverty eradication and the development of sustainable Community-Based Economies in Africa.

The rate of blockchain adoption in Kenya is quite on the rise. In May 2022, the NEAR protocol teamed up with Sankore from Kenya to establish a blockchain hub. Through a number of universities, the NEAR protocol has been educating developers on matters concerning blockchain.