Community in Ghana and Senegal:

Generally speaking, the level of community in Ghana and Senegal is both very strong and also very decentralized, it is just off-line. There are several different types of community, and many of them overlap with one another. Below is a brief overview of some of the different kinds, their structure and their function:

the level of community in Ghana and Senegal is both very strong and also very decentralized, it is just off-line.

Trade Groups

Most industry verticals for commerce are organized into different trade groups. For example, when you walk into Kejetia, an outdoor marketplace with over 500,000 traders in Kumasi, Ghana (the largest in all of West Africa), it is divided into various sections based on the goods sold.

Kejetia Market, Kumasi, Ghana

Each section has thousands of people selling the same product side-by-side, such as fish, meat, poultry, produce, gold and silver, kitchen appliances, construction hardware, charcoal, fabrics, second hand clothes, toiletries, baby goods, etc. Basically, everything one could find in a SuperStore is there, but instead of rows of stocked aisles, it is divided into rows of shops and avenues of individual traders.

The groups are extremely organized, and cooperative, and usually both composed of and powered by women. Groups are typically structured somewhat like this: a head of the group, vice head, treasurer and secretary. The group leaders (typically elder) are elected by the members, who often pay dues to the group to help cover organizational expenses. Monthly and sometimes weekly gatherings are held to discuss problems facing the group and how to resolve them.

For example, if there was a squabble between two individual traders, the leaders will resolve it. When all the individual traders need to negotiate with a bulk buyer or seller, they discuss what they think is fair and the leader and treasurer will negotiate the deal on behalf of the group. The group leaders are all there to either bless or denounce third party products and offerings, i.e. this micro-finance firm is bad, this one is okay. They circulate announcements and organize any celebrations (including funerals, which in Ghana, are usually a celebration of one’s life). They will loan money to each other in rotating circles and save money as a group for special events or ceremonies, such as the upcoming birth of a pregnant trader. If someone falls on hard times, such as when a shop is burnt down, they will come together to help out that member.

they govern themselves and support themselves.

Overall, these groups handle all aspects of life in a very localized and democratic fashion, from dispute resolution to contract negotiations to business planning; they govern themselves and support themselves. It is both powerful and promising. These same dynamics are also found in service industries such as amongst taxi and tro-tro (informal bus) drivers.

a Tro-Tro Station in Accra, Ghana

There is also a system of these group leaders based upon geography. Every market has a leader for a given group, and those local group leaders will meet up with other group leaders across the region, and regional heads across the country.

Queen Mothers, Chiefs and Tribal Leadership

Regional Queen Mothers of the Ashanti Region with the current First Lady of Ghana, Rebecca Akuffo-Addo

There is a rich history of local governance before any contact with outside societies occurred. Those roots are still maintained, practiced, and revered to this day. Queen Mothers and Chiefs occupy the macro-community leadership role, and in Ghana are constitutionally protected to serve as custodians of their traditional lands and cultures. They are often elected by the people, and sometimes the rite is inherited. Either way, these roles are usually occupied for life. In stark contrast to formal politics, these leaders are considered incorruptible. They authentically care about every problem any citizen may face. They resolve disputes and are the ones that people go to when they really need a job or fall on hard times. When you discover that your child has a rare illness — you go to the them. If all your livestock went missing — you’d go to them. Well, you get the picture. Due to their influence and the authentic stewardship of their people, they wield real power. No matter how many special interests may influence a local politician, they can do nothing without the blessing of the Queen Mothers or Chiefs. This network is composed of sub-chiefs and queen mothers based upon geographical divisions.

Religious Leaders

Ghana is a majority Christian nation, with a strong muslim minority population, while Senegal is nearly entirely Muslim. Both countries are some of the most tolerant and accepting places and (rightfully) take pride in their interfaith harmony. In the Muslim faith, Imams are the religious leaders. In Senegal, they often fill the role of the Queen Mother/Chief, mentioned above. They are highly revered, help to guide communal decisions, and are there to take care of the people, fighting for rights and promulgating any social agendas. In Ghana, Christians often pay tithes — 10% of their income — to their church. The church is a cornerstone of community and people save in groups for each others’ needs and celebrations.

The Potential for Access Network to tie into these Existing Communities

If they are given tools, they will build great things. If they are empowered with control of which tools they want to access, they will discover new applications that the crypto-community could never possibly envision.

Blockchain technology fits so well with these existing communal dynamics. These offline communal networks are built around trust, are distributed in design, and decentralized in composition. In short, these communities are lightning rods without lightning. These communities are great mechanisms for disseminating information, distributing decision-making, and using real-world applications to cross-pollinate with each other. If they are given tools, they will build great things. If they are empowered with control of which tools they want to access, they will discover new applications that the crypto-community could never possibly envision.

Some specific integrations Access currently envisions are as follows:

Voting and Liquid Democracy

These various community leaders would make for great delegates to help communicate and effectuate the wills of the people.

Digitization into Districts

On a singular communal level, much more leverage and value can be created if they can become digital districts. A whole community of traders can collateralize their collective goods against a loan or de-risk the issuance of insurance for their trade; a religious group could create their own mosque or church; and traditional areas can build their own businesses, schools and other public works.

Further, there is the meta-opportunity to synergize those values amongst different communities or districts, and create a more diverse and resilient economy. The fishers of one community could guarantee the loan of the fish sellers in another region. The traders of corn could help underwrite the insurance of corn farmers. One mosque could help build a church. Peanut farmers from one area could build a Peanut processing plant in another. And so on and so on, from village A to village B, to region C to region D, to region E in country X to region F in country Y. Communities accessing each other, across borders and boundaries, to conduct trade and co-create great things.

Some Dapps we are excited to see in this environment: (we will be dedicating some longer posts to them in the near future)

Loans and Group Loans

Micro Insurance (especially a DAO co-owned, underwritten and managed by the people)

Ecommerce

DAOs (to create and govern new entities for all aspects of life; schools, businesses, factories, hospitals, etc.)

We are so confident in the ability for these real-world applications to thrive, but what gives us the most confidence is knowing that the community will be in control of that lever of access themselves.

As always, please comment below on anything and everything; add to the community flavor above with your own stories; suggest synergies that you see; explore Dapps that you think would work in this environment.

Sincerely,

The Access Family