Johannesburg - Stokvels in South Africa are worth an estimated R25 billion, according to a survey released by market research company African Response yesterday.
The survey, taken from 3 750 interviews, found that 23 percent of the population belonged to stokvels, of which there were about 421 000 in the country.
A stokvel is a group savings scheme, usually run by trusted friends or co-workers. Members contribute a set amount each month and either one member gets the total each month to spend on a personal need, or it is invested and divided among members at an agreed time.
African Response managing director Mamapudi Nkgadima said burial societies were the most common type of stokvel.
“It is a fact that many spend fortunes preparing for death in their community or family, and limited resources towards saving or investment,” she said.
“Funerals, or the prospect of a funeral, is an expensive issue in the average stokvel member’s life.”
The next most common stokvels were for savings and groceries.
The average stokvel had about 31 members, although membership could be as high as 100 people in burial stokvels.
The average contribution for a burial stokvel was R134 a month from each member, compared with R190 a month for other stokvel types.
“Less than half of what stokvels collect in their entirety gets saved or invested and this is an area that needs to be looked at,” Nkgadima said.
“Stokvel members should be encouraged to explore value-adding ways to strengthen their collective savings.”
The results were taken from face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample between February and last month. - Sapa