What keeps a stokvel strong

Good relationships, addressing concerns will keep it going for many years.

- Ina Opperman

What keeps a stokvel strong after 25 years? Relationships, support and understanding, the experts say.

The National Stokvel Association of South Africa (Nasasa) estimates over 11 million South Africans are members of a stokvel, about 40% of the adult population, which makes stokvels a primary source of savings in a country with a poor savings culture.

South Africa's stokvel industry is worth R45 billion and it still grows, but economic uncertainty has turned managing stokvels into a daunting task.

As a group savings platform, stokvel success demands a mental shift into relationship management to succeed, Rapule Mahlangu, head of associations and affinity groups at Metropolitan, says.