A pilot project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, demonstrates that blockchain-based community currencies, when integrated with local cultural practices and targeted cash transfers, can significantly enhance local trade and community resilience. The initiative, led by Swiss NGO Encointer in collaboration with local partner Jukumu, shows that combining cash transfers with a digital local currency multiplied the economic impact by 240%, according to a November 12, 2025 press release.
Launched in late 2023 in the Nyota community, the pilot has grown to over 100 participants who are co-creating innovative ways to strengthen livelihoods. For example, Aisha, who runs MoZa Cosmetics, expanded her customer base from around 15 to over 40 clients per month through the Nyota community currency. The pilot combines two approaches that start with direct cash transfers using blockchain systems. In the first, individuals pool their small cash transfers using the traditional rotating savings and credit system called Mchezo, using the pooled resources to fund local businesses in tailoring, food production, and retail. In the second, cash transfers fill a reserve that secures the issuance of the local digital currency, allowing it to circulate within the community and be exchanged for national currency when needed.
The impact is already tangible. Alinagwe Mwaselela reflected: "Now we see the community relationship between members is very strong. The use of Nyota currency has increased savings and reduced the cost of getting good products and services." These results are documented in a newly released video and project documentation. Building on these successes, Encointer is preparing to scale its model. "The Nyota pilot shows how local trust, innovation, and collective action can create real economic resilience," says Malik El Bay from Encointer.
The team is conducting deeper impact assessments through community surveys and transaction analysis, while integrating savings groups and community-backed microloan mechanisms directly into the smartphone application. Encointer is also expanding partnerships with NGOs, donors, and local governments to pilot the models at a larger scale. First successes are already visible in Nigeria, where a new community has adopted the Encointer system and begun building its own local economy based on the same principles. Learn more about Encointer at https://encointer.org.
