Cashflow: Pubs, local shopkeeper are bigger lenders than banks

During that time of the month when pockets were painfully dry, I queued behind peers at the local village shop and waited for my name to be inked in the debtors’ book. Minutes later, I would be hurtling down the dusty path home, a bag of maize flour in one hand and a sachet of tea leaves in the other. This without having touched money in weeks.

Years later, my father opened a small shop. It was my turn to write down names in the debtors’ book, the black book that could ruin the reputation of the debtor or the financial stability of the creditor. This ageless practice, people taking goods from shops on credit, is arguably the country’s most underrated support for livelihoods in the countryside.