Paper short abstract:

This study examines how West African migrant women in Spain adapt traditional tontines using digital platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. It highlights benefits, such as mobile money and remote meetings, but also the loss of vital social bonds that underpin these microfinance practices.

Paper long abstract:

This research explores the role of digital platforms and social media in the adaptation and transposition of traditional West African informal microfinance strategies, specifically tontines, within migratory contexts. Drawing on fieldwork conducted with Senegalese and Gambian migrants in Spain, the study focuses on three key aspects:

1. Enforcement of sanctions against defaulters: Historically, sanctions were embedded within sociocultural norms and customary law systems, often involving direct pressure on the defaulter's family. In migratory settings, however, social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are increasingly utilized to publicly denounce defaulters within migrant communities.

2. Transformation of monetary transactions: Traditionally, members handed over cash in person. However, this practice is being replaced by the use of mobile money services, such as Bizum in Spain, which enable digital transfers and reduce the need for physical cash exchanges.

3. Virtualization of regular meetings: Tontine meetings, which traditionally required the physical presence of members for fund distribution, have been adapted to accommodate members’ work schedules and geographic dispersion. Meetings are now recorded and shared through digital platforms like WhatsApp and Zoom, enabling remote participation.

The primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate how digital platforms facilitate the continuity of traditional microfinance practices in migratory contexts. Simultaneously, the paper highlights a critical trade-off: the adoption of digital technologies may erode a fundamental aspect of tontines—the social bonds and interpersonal relationships that traditionally underpinned these financial networks.