What is a stokvel, njangi or tontine — and how to start one

The short answer

A stokvel is a savings group. A fixed set of people agree to contribute the same amount of money on the same day of every cycle — every week, every two weeks, or every month — and the whole pot goes to one member each cycle, in turn, until everyone has received it once. Then the circle either ends or starts again.

The same arrangement has a different name almost everywhere: njangi in Cameroon, tontine across francophone Africa, susu in Ghana, esusu or ajo in Nigeria, stokvel in South Africa, iqub in Ethiopia, chama in Kenya, sou-sou in the Caribbean. Economists call it a rotating savings and credit association, or ROSCA.

Why people use one

• You save a lump sum you would never manage to keep aside alone.
• You get access to a large amount early, without interest and without a bank.
• The group is the discipline — people pay because their friends are watching.
• No credit history, no collateral, no paperwork.

How to start one, step by step

1. Pick the people, not the amount. Every member must be someone the others would trust with a month of their income. Six to twelve people is the easiest size to run.
2. Agree the contribution and the cycle. Pick an amount everyone can pay on their worst month, not their best. Fix a date — for example the 5th of each month.
3. Decide the rotation order. Two fair methods: draw lots at the first meeting, or agree an order based on need. Write it down before the first payment, and never change it quietly.
4. Choose the roles. Most groups appoint a president, a treasurer who collects and pays out, and a secretary who keeps the record. Splitting collection from record-keeping is what keeps a group honest.
5. Write the rules. What happens if someone pays late? What is the penalty? What happens if someone leaves after receiving their payout? Agree this while everyone is still friendly. Use our free stokvel constitution template — fill in the blanks and have every member sign it.
6. Keep one shared record. Not a notebook one person holds. Every member should be able to see who paid, who is late and who is next.

The mistakes that break savings groups

• The person who receives first disappears. Fix: let the least-known member go last.
• No written rules, so every dispute becomes personal.
• One person keeps the record on paper or in their head, and nobody can check it.
• The contribution is set too high, so late payments become normal and the trust goes.
• Transfer charges quietly eat the pot. Many groups fix this by asking each member to add a small convenience amount — sending 10,200 XAF instead of 10,000 XAF — so the recipient gets the full sum.

Running yours on Xodus Vault

Xodus Vault is the shared record. You create the group, set the amount and the cycle, and send one invite code. Requests to join wait for your approval, so nobody appears in the rotation by accident. Every member sees the same grid of who paid and who is next, in English or French, and you can appoint a treasurer and a secretary as co-admins instead of doing everything yourself.

Groups of nine members or fewer are free. Above that the fee is small and shared across the group, not carried by the person who set it up.