Stokvels

Abstract

Stokvels are the South African rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs). Stovkvels aim to empower rural Black women whose economic lives are often precarious, and who have a hard time accessing formal capital from banks. The historical experience of apartheid has made the use of Stokvels essential to life for many South Africans. Stokvels are ROSCAs or banking cooperatives carried out informally by members who know one another for mutual benefit. The chapter gives a brief snapshot of the issues prevailing in modern-day South Africa. It also presents the role and the significance of its small, medium-, and micro-enterprise (SMME) sector. The author documents the challenges South Africans face, particularly Black women, who have traditionally been marginalized socially and excluded economically. It is argued that Stokvels promotes social justice in South Africa for women with their range and variety as they are communal financial enterprises benefitting both the individual and the community. This work draws on community - economies ideas, as well as literature from South Africa, to locate the need for Black South Africans to use alternative banks to meet their needs. The chapter concludes by examining how Stokvels—and their billions of rand—might be mobilized to create a more humane and collective economy.