Jon Adam Chen

Jon Adam Chen

Researcher and Co-Lead, Sikhula Sonke: Living Archives of Afrofuturist Village Banking

Jon Adam Chen

Jon Adam Chen is a strategic communications specialist with a background in social impact, storytelling, and African development. He thrives as an editor, writer, and researcher. Jon Adam holds a master’s degree in media studies from the University of Cape Town and was an Engineers Without Borders Canada long-term fellow. He has supported grassroots organizations in Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. He currently works with the Assembly of First Nations and previously held roles with the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Canadian Red Cross.

Views from the Grassroots: Village Banking and Financial Inclusion in Southern Africa

The session builds upon 2023 Interledger F|M awardees, Esther Mwema and Jon Adam Chen’s creative project, 'Sikhula Sonke: Living Archives of Afrofuturist Village Banking.’ Through exploring the practice of village banking in southern Africa, the session will introduce audiences to the grassroots, locally embedded approach to financial inclusion and open payments. Providing a rare opportunity …