There’s a new currency on the block — and it has unexpectedly come from a tiny village in Western Jamaica, Accompong.
Announcing the introduction of the Lumi, Accompong’s finance minister Timothy McPherson says it is opening new pathways in Africa for a currency that is pegged against Africa’s biggest resource – renewable energy.
“We recognised that given the reality for climate change, the opportunity for Africa and its future economic development as well as the Caribbean and Latin America resides within embracing the reality for climate change and taking a leadership role and that should be based on renewable energy.”
The most important factor determining the price of currency is either market forces of demand and supply or pegging it against other currencies performances. In this case, the Lumi draws on the future demand and supply for renewable energy and, in this case, solar energy.
Climatically, the sun shines brightest in Africa and as McPherson comments: “The financial engineering behind the Lumi recognises the way in which our ancestors, in colonial times and pre-colonial times, always took a leadership role in creating their own mechanisms for monetary exchange whether bartering, cowrie shells, copper plates or gold.”
McPherson’s focus is on striving for the achievement of the sustainable development goals critical for Africa’s future. Drawing on his experience in Accompong, he is set to introduce the concept of the Lumi to the rest of Africa.
