S
General
Stokvel
A group of people (usually friends, family, or neighbours) who pitch in money regularly — sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly — and take turns receiving the lump sum. Some do it for Christmas, some for funerals, some just to save. It's informal, it's community-based, and it's probably older than banking itself.
Usage Examples
"Mama Dlamini's stokvel meets every Friday. Twelve women, R500 each, so every week one woman gets R6,000. She uses hers for her spaza shop stock."
"The December stokvel is massive in townships. Families pool R2,000 a month and use the lump sum to buy bulk groceries from Makro for the whole family's December."
"Some stokvels now partner with insurance companies so when you get your payout, you've also got funeral cover. It's the old way meeting the modern way."