What is "stokvel"

n. (context South Africa English) the informal gathering of savings amongst a group of people, which is handed out to each person, one after the other

Stokvels are invitation only clubs of twelve or more people serving as rotating credit unions or saving scheme in South Africa where members contribute fixed sums of money to a central fund on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.The name “stokvel” originated from the term “stock fairs”, as the rotating cattle auctions of English settlers in the Eastern Cape during the early 19th century were known.

Stokvels generally have a constitution which dictates the size of the contributions, when the accumulated money is to be paid out and the roles and responsibilities of the members. Each month a different member receives the money in the fund, which was collected during that period. Defaults on contribution are quite rare as other members will know if you haven’t paid your contribution, and also because the regular meetings are a reminder of what you will gain when it is your turn. Depending on the type of stokvels, the members can use the collected fund for their own use, for payment or investment purposes.

It is estimated that one in every two black adult South Africans is a member of at least one of 89 000 stokvels. Black adult South Africans invest approximately R12 billion in stokvels a year.