NOW that the year is up and running, SunStokvel asks, is your stokvel as well?
We posed this question to stokvel experts, including Busi Skenjana, during the Ariel Stokvel Academy, which took place at the Diepkloof Multipurpose Centre.
The event was aimed at teaching women, who are also stokvel members, financial and business skills that they can use to make sure they not only become independent, but can also care for their families and uplift the communities where they live and work.
Busi, the founder of the Stokvel Academy, said stokvel members should remember that their stokvel year may only have 12 days.
“Don’t be fooled by the fact that there are over 365 days in a year when your stokvel meets once a month. Those other days are for you to plan ahead.”
She said stokvels should have clear goals about what they want to achieve by the end of this year.
“Until the end of March, you should be deciding what works and what does not, and making the needed changes because, before you know it, the year will be over,” she said.
In partnership with a detergent brand Ariel and Business Skills South Africa, the academy saw members from 60 stokvels from around Joburg learn business skills.
Tau Mokoka, from Business Skills, said these skills were important for stokvels.
“The same way we help small business owners, we want to also see stokvels developed into proper investment schemes,” he said.
Busi said the training would continue in Joburg and that training will also be taking place in Durban, KZN, in April.
This is the first year that the academy is delivering the financial training. You can sign up for the one-day courses happening in Gauteng until May.