In Dubai recently, a young Kenyan woman told me how her grandmother and mother relied on their version of Esusu to pay school fees, stock their shops, and weather hard seasons.
Listening to her, I was reminded of generations of African women, our continent’s original bankers, who built trust networks long before formal banks opened their doors to them.
They gave each other dignity, discipline, and hope.
That legacy deserves honour.
But it also demands evolution.
Because, as I told a senior executive later that evening, Esusu is n
