A leader in stokvels, with an unrelenting passion for group-saving

The National Stokvel Association of South Africa defines a stokvel as a credit union in which a group of people enter into an agreement to contribute a fixed amount of money to a common pool weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Contrary to popular belief, this system is not unique to Mzansi.

In Kenya, a stokvel is also known as a chama. Originally, chamas tended to be exclusively women’s groups, but as they started to grow in sophistication and success, men started participating in chamas as well. In Kenya, there are estimated to be 300 000 chamas managing a total of KSh300 billion (US$3.4 billion) in assets.

MZANSI’S UNDERVALUING OF STOKVELS

In South Africa, there’s a sense that stokvels are undervalued or are simply seen as a pastime for black women in the township. “Stokvels are not fully appreciated and valued by corporate South Africa, as they are perceived to be a group of informal savings groups, who are just consumers of goods,” Busi Skenjana, CEO of BSK Marketing, tells Spot-On. The financial challenges of the last few years have highlighted the importance of saving. “Indeed, the Covid-19 crisis and many other economic challenges should have taught many people – including stokvels – the importance of emergency fund savings,” says the stokvel giant Skenjana.

AN EXPERT IN STOKVELS

There aren’t many people with the knowledge, experience and passion for stokvels that Skenjana boasts. Her organisation, BSK Marketing, is a below-the-line strategic agency with over 25 years’ marketing experience, focusing on stokvels throughout South Africa. Through BSK Marketing, Skenjana launched Stokvel Academy in 2017 as a way of educating people about this form of saving. Stokvel Academy is a division of BSK Marketing.

“Stokvel Academy and BSK Marketing access as many stokvels as possible through different touch points. On average, we engage with about 25 000 stokvel community members per annum. The number of stokvel community members reached depends on our clients’ and sponsors’ needs,” says Skenjana.

THE IMPORTANCE OF STOKVEL EDUCATION

The Stokvel Academy offers two types of stokvel learning platforms – the first being the Stokvel Workshops, supported by specific brands. “While we market brands, we also use that as a platform to educate stokvels.”

There is also the Stokvel Academy Learning Management System. This is an online-based learning platform hosted on the website: www.stokvelacademy.co.za. “This is a fairly new platform, where we teach the basics of stokvels, as well as financial education supported by a panel of accredited financial experts.”

Skenjana concurs with Spot-On when probed on how stokvels generally don’t take seriously the importance of getting an education in stokvels. “Indeed, stokvels seem to downplay the importance of formal education, especially financial education.

“Stokvel Academy’s mission is not to formalise stokvels, but to harness and nurture stokvels so that they can reach their financial freedom potential, and hopefully create generational wealth.”

LITTLE GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT

It doesn’t help that the South African government isn’t tapping into individuals like Skenjana who have the expertise to make a big difference in communities. “Unfortunately, Stokvel Academy does not work with government at this stage due to government’s lack of structured focus on stokvel development.

“In my view, stokvels can a play a key role in government’s economic development policy framework. If stokvels could be nurtured and supported, they could play an important role in business development and poverty alleviation, through job creation.”

A NEW GENERATION OF STOKVELS

There is a stigma attached to stokvels: many believe they are solely for black women in rural areas and townships. This assertion isn’t helped by the fact that one of the most popular stokvels is for groceries, which is dominated by females. “That is a perception. The older black women who dominate stokvels joined in their youthful stage. For instance, I am 66 years old; I joined my first stokvel when I was 24. I am still a stokvel member in 2022. There are many older black men and women who have been in stokvels for decades,” Skenjana says.

“The youth are fairly active in the newgeneration stokvels. They may not be calling them stokvels, but the principles are similar to older-generation stokvels. The young stokvel generation is more focused on wealth creation activities like property investment.”

01 Vet team members: ensure that you join a stokvel with people who are credible, trustworthy and can reasonably afford to meet their stokvel financial commitment.

02 Set clear goals for your stokvel: the goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time based.

03 All stokvel members must commit to the stokvel vision.

04 You must have your customised constitution.

05 Always engage with financial advisors from recognised and credible financial institutions.

06 You must have huge appetite for learning, especially financial education.

07 Be willing to invest in holistic stokvel development: you must strive for health-related, financial and social wellness.

08 You must have a clear and sustainable savings plan: this plan should take your stokvel into the future – not just for December sharing!

09 Stokvel leadership is key: your leader/s should be able to lead the stokvel into a wealthy future.

10 Avoid joining mass social media stokvels (e.g. on Facebook and WhatsApp)!

@StokvelAcademy BSk Marketing

bskmarketing.co.za www.stokvelacademy.co.za

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