Social Innovation in Collaborative Finance: A Comparative Case Study of Grassroots Savings Practices in Ghana and China

Abstract

Informal financial systems have long sustained communities excluded from formal banking, offering both economic resilience and social solidarity. This paper examines two enduring grassroots savings models, Susu in Ghana (developing context) and HeHui (合会) in China (developed context), as participatory systems that embody co-creation, trust-based accountability, and collective reciprocity. Both practices demonstrate how communities design financial infrastructures that are adaptive, inclusive, and culturally grounded, operating outside the logics of hierarchical and profit-driven institutions. Drawing on an exploratory comparative case study approach, the paper situates Susu and HeHui (合会) within the broader frameworks of participatory design, social innovation, systems design, and decolonizing finance. It analyses how these systems have evolved across centuries while adapting to digitalization. In Ghana, mobile money platforms and cooperative-led initiatives have extended Susu’s reach, enhancing transparency while raising concerns of digital exclusion. In China, HeHui (合会) has migrated to platforms such as WeChat and Alipay, broadening participation but also introducing risks tied to corporate control, fraud, and the erosion of face-to-face trust. The comparative analyses highlight shared values of reciprocity and voluntary participation alongside divergent cultural drivers, women’s agency and informal trade in Ghana, kinship and social reputation in China. It argues that Susu and HeHui (合会) exemplify hybrid socio-technical systems that blend tradition with digital tools. Analyzed within the context of participatory design, these cases underscore the need to co-create inclusive, culturally sensitive, and community-owned financial technologies. They demonstrate that innovation often emerges from the ground up, offering pathways to reimagine finance as a collaborative, equitable, and deeply human practice.