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Mambo! Article : Mobile Money, Money-changing and Social Relations at the Kenya-Uganda Border Points by Eric Magale

The Busia and Malaba border points between Kenya and Uganda are not only a melting point of cultures and nationalities; it is also the hub of significant informal commercial activity. Money therefore plays a critical role in facilitating exchange. Within this understanding, mobile money stands out as an important medium of exchange and money changing, a critical means of exchanging value. This article describes the social embeddedness of the trading community at the border points and the distinctive role that mobile money and money changing practices plays in this regard. It also highlights the symbiotic relationship between money changing practices and mobile money agents from multiple networks and how different actors in this multicultural space establish trust and conviviality. These insights are not entirely self-evident and only surface upon understanding the everyday practices of these actors. This article contributes to ideas on the anthropology of money by Sibel Kusimba, Bill Maurer, Simba Gukurume and others.

🔗 To access it, click on the link: https://mambo.hypotheses.org/4193


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
IFRA Nairobi (December 10, 2025). Mambo! Article : Mobile Money, Money-changing and Social Relations at the Kenya-Uganda Border Points by Eric Magale. IFRA Nairobi. Retrieved February 16, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/15bd9


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