Informal Microfinancing Systems and Networks: Transnational Senegalese Tontines in the Migratory Context

ROSCAs constitute informal savings and credit associations involving a group of individuals, often women, who pool their resources and distribute the funds periodically with each member taking turns to receive the total sum. This form of microfinance is widely practiced among small-scale networks of women in different West African countries, where it receives different local names and plays a crucial role in economic, social, and cultural fields.

In the migratory context, tontines also serve as a critical economic, social, and cultural strategy among West African men and women. As an economic strategy, tontines facilitate savings and provide credits to meet diverse needs, from financing entrepreneurial ventures to managing unforeseen circumstances, such as unemployment or expenses related to family events and obligations. As a sociocultural strategy, tontines contribute to diversify and strengthen networks, fostering the development of relationships based on trust, solidarity, and cooperation while empowering their participants given that involvement in a tontine is a symbol of honour and prestige, of good reputation and trustfulness (qualities much needed in the migratory context).

This paper examines the interrelationships between the socio-economic characteristics of the migratory context, particularly the labour market, and the formation of transnational tontines. It will explore the different types of tontines, as well as the motivations for participating (or not), the selection process for members, the contribution schedules, and the mode of redistribution.

This study is based on ethnographic fieldwork with Senegalese men and women residing in Spain (Burgos and Calella), either permanently or seasonally, who participate in tontines. A key contribution of this research is the identification of two specific types of tontines within the migratory context: the "seasonal tontine," formed by seasonal workers in the tourism sector, and the "remittance tontine," where savings are allocated to support tontines organized by family members in other migratory contexts.