Joaquim Melo

BuilderModern· Brazilian

Founded Banco Palmas in 1998 in Conjunto Palmeiras, Fortaleza — Brazil's first community bank, where residents issue the palma, a social currency that keeps money circulating in the neighborhood that earns it. His community-banking methodology grew into a national network of Brazilian community banks and the e-dinheiro digital payments platform, proof that poor communities can own and run their own monetary institutions. A community educator and Ashoka Fellow, he continues to write and organize for the solidarity economy.