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Roscas participation is prevalent in developing countries. This is despite the fact that participation is costly in terms of time opportunity cost of time spent attending meetings and there is the risk of loss from default. This study looked at the characteristics of participants, the motives of Roscas participation and how allocation decisions are made and the preferred time of receiving the pot. Data was generated from a Kenyan slum. It provides important lessons for those interested in tapping the potential of Rosca participants in developing microfinance products.

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Dr Willy Muturi lectures economics at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya. He holds a PhD in Economics from the same university and Masters and Bachelors Degrees in Economics from the University of Nairobi

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