As electricity tariffs continue to rise, squeezing household and small business budgets, a new solar company has entered the market with stokvel and crowdfunding models aimed at making renewable energy more affordable and accessible. Ipeleng Power Solutions (IPS), founded by entrepreneur Ipeleng Mhlanga, 32, launched in Johannesburg this week, offering solar system design, installation, maintenance […]
‘We’re not filling a gap; we’re catalysing a new economic paradigm’
Sarah Mokwebo explains how her book stokvel concept works, and how it benefits members
Can the stokvel, the home-grown savings institution tried and tested over the ages, go digital? At least two startup fintech companies reckon so, arguing that bringing zeros and ones to the traditional way of doing things offers a stockpile of advantages. An amount of R44-billion is collectively saved in 820 000 stokvels in the country annually, […]
Many of those named in the report are taking legal action or protesting their innocence, but its author is standing his ground
A liquidation application offers insight into the ‘epic’ fraud that fleeced the bank
‘We thought the bank was a safe place to keep our money but now we have been thrown
in a dilemma’
Bids to unleash their economic potential have failed largely because the motives, networks and practices of the informal economy are ignored.
Social capital is one of the driving factors behind the success of these groups
More than 1 700 people invested their savings in a scheme they now believe was fraudulent, writes Sarah Evans.
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/ 30 November 2010
With about 800 000 active stokvels in South Africa, it appears informal savings clubs are thriving.
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/ 28 December 2008
Fano Ephraim Mtshali hasn’t held a steady job since 1998 and claws out a living for his two children and his eight orphaned nieces and nephews.