Soweto workshop highlights stokvels’ role in building generational wealth

Themed ‘Unlocking generational wealth through collective investment, financial literacy, and financial stewardship’, the Women Navigating the Future Network hosted its second annual Financial Inclusion Workshop at Uncle Tom’s Community Hall in Orlando West Soweto on July 12.

Stokvels have evolved beyond traditional savings clubs. Today, they offer a range of benefits and services, positioning themselves as key financiers of township economic development projects while building generational wealth.

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The transformative financial education programme aimed to empower and educate the Soweto community through discussions and providing insights on enterprise compliance, opportunities within the stokvel landscape and awareness around wills and estate planning.

Stokvel expert, founder of the Stokvel Revolution Podcast and author, Palesa Lengolo, explained more about the initiative.

“Through this workshop, we aim to rebrand and shift the perception of stokvels.

“We are educating and encouraging people to safeguard their funds by banking and transacting digitally, a key step in reducing the risk of theft,” Lengolo said.

Lengolo also emphasised that to ensure accountability and transparency in stokvel groups, members should adopt a constitution that all participants agree to and abide by.

Speaking to the Urban News, author and founder of the Stokvel Academy, Busi Skenjana, who has been in the stokvel industry for almost five decades, said.

“My love, passion and purpose in life is stokvel development. I believe there’s a great future for stokvels, especially for the younger generation.

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“They can use stokvels to drive meaningful change in our communities, creating jobs, improving education and much more.”

She explained that resistance to change and a lack of commitment to development are among the biggest challenges facing most stokvels because many remain trapped in the traditional model of saving and consuming rather than growing and investing.

The head of customer success and manager at Stokfella, Karmani Naidoo, said, “The biggest thing that stood out for me today is seeing the community take charge and actively want to make a change.

“For anyone interested in joining a stokvel group, my advice is to do thorough research.

“To avoid being scammed, they should use digital tools like the Stokfella app, which allows every member to monitor the funds and track all transactions within the group.”