Salome Kimani

Profile

Research Interests

Digital finance, digital technology, informal economy, everyday financial experiences, market places and spaces, financial geography

PhD Project

Everyday experiences of digital finance among market traders in Nairobi

Human geography research has increasingly identified the integral role money and finance play in the everyday life of the poor in the global South. By examining how the poor use formal and informal financial services, these studies illustrate that not only are the poor able to save and contribute to their own livelihoods, but their financial practices do not necessarily conform to the neo-liberal discourse of a self-disciplined individual. This research seeks to move beyond this focus by investigating the everyday lived experiences of digital and non-digital financial services in the global South. With the increasing role of digital financial inclusion in everyday life in the global South, there is concern that citizens are being transformed from ‘welfare subjects’ to ‘personal borrowers and investors’. Therefore, instead of governments providing collective security and support, communities are being exposed to the risks associated with the financial markets and are gradually being turned into indebted subjects. Through a digital ethnographic approach, this thesis proposes to investigate the everyday lived experiences of digital finance among market traders and vendors in Nairobi. By examining the financial lives of market vendors and merchants, this thesis will aim to contribute to an emerging body of work that recognizes the need to examine and observe how financial inclusion initiatives are incorporated into everyday life, and the extent to which these financial practices draw upon and/or challenge existing cultural and social subjectivities.

Supervisors

Dr. William Monteith, School of Geography, QMUL

Prof. Kavita Datta, School of Geography, QMUL

Academic Background

BA (Hons) in Communications, Daystar University

MA International Development (Merit), The University of Manchester

Publications

Blog Entry:

Im/mobility during Coronatimes: On the impossibility of ‘staying home’ amid  forced evictions in Kenya (August 2020)

Research