Microfinance and Cultural Awe from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar

December 17, 2007. The ferry ride from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar culminated with one of the most picturesque scenes of the Darejani garden, reminiscent of old days gone. Fisherman were pulling into the port with the day’s catch to be sold in the market that evening, while the young boys played football on the shores of the ocean, with the Palace of Wonders as a backdrop. Covered Muslim men and women were seated in the garden among Masai, relaxing on a Sunday evening in the market. Stone Town is a unique and remarkable place that is a compilation of snapshots of history. As one author succinctly puts it: "If the name Zanzibar conjures up for you a tantalizing sense of mystery, of a hidden past, of the spices of the orient, of a vibrant culture set in an island just off the coast of Africa and edged with tropical, palm-fringed beaches—then you will not be disappointed. Zanzibar is all this, and more."

The island has a long and colorful past. Traders plying the Indian Ocean in their dhows first stopped off there some 3,000 years ago. Much later came the conquering Portuguese, and then the Omani sultans, who ruled Zanzibar from the early 1800s and presided over the shame of the slave trade. The last of the Omani sultans fled just after independence in 1963, and Zanzibar united with mainland Tanganyika to become the independent state of Africa, Tanzania.

It’s been ages since a place has captivated me. I was visiting Zanzibar, primarily for a community-managed microfinance training, taught by the Microenterprise and Development Institute-Africa, which focused on village savings and loans programs, very similar to the Grameen model of Bangladesh. Community-managed microfinance places a stronger emphasis on savings rather than credit on the premise that the poor and vulnerable are financially capable of setting aside daily or weekly savings in small quantities which transform into assets. These savings/assets can be used for emergencies, asset protection, predictable costs, or planned investment. Pooled savings or community shares can also be used as credit that can be disbursed as loans to community members in manageable amounts to be used for emergencies, debt repayment, or planned investment. This diversification creates multiples sources of funding that allows for optimization of financial undertakings and management of household cashflow. It’s a very simple concept that has had a strong impact on the lives of many of the most vulnerable of the global South.

Another awesome aspect of attending this training was the opportunity to meet individuals from all over the African continent and the world, who are doing similar work in their respective areas. We finished off the week and celebrated my birthday on the rooftop of the old Emerson and Green hotel, which was once a small palace of a sultan in Stone Town. The décor is stunning! The rooftop has one of the best views of Stone Town and the sunset, and in the evenings, from every direction, resonating over the town are the call to prayer from the mosques and ringing bells of the Shiva-Shakthi temple and Christian churches. Zanzibar is definitely a place worth revisiting.