Recognizing ROSCAs in Canada as a form of Black mutual aid and cooperation

The first Banker Ladies Council was held on the 22^nd of April 2022 in Toronto, Canada, by Women cooperators who put together self-managed informal cooperatives commonly known as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations –ROSCAs for short. These women cooperators in charge of organizing ROSCAs call themselves the Banker Ladies. This meeting was convened because the women want ROSCAs to be recognized in Canadian society as a form of mutual aid and cooperative institution so that we can end the harms and stigmas against those who use these systems. 

The point of the Banker Ladies Council is to bring change

The focus of this Banker Ladies Council was to gather a select group of women from the east and west who work on ending poverty and are continuously organizing ROSCAs as a principal lifeline. The women insist they manage ROSCAs to meet livelihood needs such as children’s education fees, marriage costs, and buying inventory for their sideline business or travel.

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