About Us
Grassroots Economics is a non-profit foundation that seeks to empower marginalized communities to take charge of their own livelihoods and economic future. We focus on community development through economic empowerment and community currency programs. Beneficiaries of our programs include small businesses and people living in informal settlements as well as rural areas.
Our goal is to improve the lives of those who are most vulnerable.
Sarafu.Network
Through our technology partners we are building systems that let communities digitally create their own currencies and allow them to trade on regional economic markets that are built from the ground up
Blockchain technology provides underlying protocols that allow Community Currencies to trade with each other directly and maintain collateral.
Our work builds on a rich history of community programs in Africa. We have implemented community currency programs in 45 locations across Kenya and assisted with 2 in South Africa and helped more than 25,000 small businesses, churches and schools take an active role in their own economy and development. We are currently developing programs all over Kenya and providing technical support for those outside Kenya.
HISTORY
2010
On average profits increased in 20
ECO-PESA
This program was launched as a backed currency model with 75 Businesses taking part in three informal settlements near Kongowea, Mombasa. The currency was backed by donor funds and accomplished some amazing community service and environmental goals in partnership with Green World Campaign while increasing local trade for a year period.
20 tonnes of trash collected 1000's of trees were planted
Meet The Team
Board of directors
Caroline Dama
Will Ruddick
Team
Louis Holbrook
Senior Sofware Developer
Antony Ngoka
Field Officer
Benjamin Scholtz
DevOps Guru
Fransisca (Mami) Achieng
Field Support Engineer
James Zaki
Blockchain Developer
Janet Treezer
Support Engineer
Ruth Njau
Senior Field Officer
Philip Wafula
Software Developer
Damaris Njoroge
Administration Officer
Sylvia Karanja
Data Quality Engineer
Vivian Olaki
Support Engineer
Amina Godana
Support Engineer
Our sponsors and partners include
A special thanks to our advisors and individual sponsors
Holger Hoffmann-Riem
Jeff Emmet
Griff Greene
Fennie Wang
Reba Chabeda
Counsel Reza Zain Jaufeerally
Jimmy Heyns
Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
Carmen Mauk
Professor Jem Bendell
Robert Mutsaers
Ahmed Maawy
Thibaud Dezyn, Jimmy Heyns, Henk Van Arkel, Elvis Ogweno, Annette Loudon, Chris Lindstrom, Christina Bordes, Elizabeth Weiland, Gilfrid Powys, Loucéro Mariani, Jim and Ellen Wagner, The Ruddick Family, The Kowa Family, Dawn Richards, Edmond Oklahoma United Methodist Women, Prof. Dr. Margrit Kennedy, Prof. Declan Kennedy, Dr. Jeremy Bendell, Xenia Heinze, Association TAOA, Jamie Brown, Kevin Cox, Sergio Lub, Hayem Etienne, Edgar Kampers, DELAMARE, David Hall, MULLER, Marie-Hélène, Barbara Schiess, Eva Vander Giessen, Joseph Leonardi, Susan Steed, Guido Hosman, Gabriel Grimsditch, Tobias Fields, Nemo Curiel, Hugo Godschalk, Guido Hosman, Lorne Covington, Bob and Margaret Macemon, Sergio Lub, Mark and Julie Richards, Carla Lundberg, PINTO Romain, Scott Williams, Barbara Schiess, Aaron Vaillancourt, Leander Bindewald, Brent Ranalli, Eric Harris-Braun, Martin Kreidenweis, Georg Pluta, Arthur Brock, Daniel Quay, Guy Staniforth