RIYALS, EUROS OR DOLLARS: WOMEN MONEY CHANGERS AT HEART OF DJIBOUTI’S STREET ECONOMY

They are a familiar sight on the busy streets of Djibouti: women clutching handbags bulging with dollars, euros, riyals and rupees, the money changers keeping the informal economy ticking over. Perched on plastic chairs, feet propped on wooden steps, these “sarifley” as they are locally known are vital to the global cast of migrants, traders and soldiers passing through this tiny nation at the crossroads of Africa and Arabia. Customers and traders alike say that economic life would suffer a lot more friction without the money changers. Click here to learn more.