Stokvels determined to weather Covid-19 storm

Stokvel Academy a division of BSK marketing which prides itself in being specialist within the stokvel market segment, recently commissioned a survey to better understand how Covid-19 has impacted the stokvel market. One of the largest stokvel segments covered in this survey is grocery stokvels. This segment, spends about R13.bn per year on groceries.

In the survey Stokvel Academy delved into what type of stokvels the respondents belong to, their employment status, will they be doing the year-end bulk buying, how they have been communicating during lockdown and how they have been making their monthly contributions.

The online survey of 3000 stokvel members from BSK Marketing database was conducted from 9-14 June 2020. The stokvels were surveyed using mobile device online research. Survey questions were administered in English.

Stokvels market size

With 11.2 million people in South Africa belonging to stokvels, membership boasts a myriad of personalities, ranging from your ordinary “Gogos” down the road, a millennial and all the way to the CEO of a blue-chip company.

Even though the majority of stokvel members are women, about 43% of the membership are men.

Geographically, Gauteng has the highest percentage of stokvels, followed by Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and North West respectively.

The four provinces comprise 70% of the membership of the stokvel market with its total estimated value of R44bn a year. Stokvels pervade all levels of society and they are here to stay.

Covid-19 impact on stokvels

Stokvels have a strong social contract that bind them together. The key characteristic of an average traditional stokvel is monthly or quarterly meeting, hosted by one of the members.

The exciting social interaction part about being in a stokvel, namely, monthly meetings was restricted when stage 5 national lockdown was announced and stokvels needed to find new ways to engage with each other and keep the stokvel moving.

Most stokvels resorted to communicating via WhatsApp and for some hosting virtual meetings and continued with their monthly contributions regardless of the pandemic.

Key findings from the survey:

• Stokvel types: 63% belongs to a grocery stokvel, 27% belongs to saving or investment, and 5% belongs to burial and another 5% belongs to loans and other.
  
• 65% of the respondents say they will continue to buy their bulk groceries at the end of year.
  
• 79% of the respondents are still making their monthly contributions despite Covid-19 pandemic. Bear in mind that the majority of grocery stokvels are social grant recipients and quite a good percentage of them are government employees. These two categories of stokvel members are not affected in terms of monthly income, except for the additional responsibility of supporting unemployed family members.
  
• 56% are unemployed mostly due to lockdown.
  
• WhatsApp seems to be the most popular platform for communication with 85% of respondents saying they use it as a form of communication.

“As a company we saw it appropriate to commission this survey to gain a better understanding of how Stokvels are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although we only surveyed a handful of stokvel members, we believe that the findings are very interesting and give an overview of the stokvel market segment,” says Busi Skenjana CEO of BSK Marketing and Founder of Stokvel Academy.

“Stokvels contribute billions annually to the South African economy, and unfortunately this market segment is one that is often misunderstood and underestimated. At the Stokvel Academy, we aim to empower and educate stokvels and their members through sharing insights and education on how they can grow and create wealth for themselves and generations to come,” adds Busi.

For more information on the survey or for interview purposes, contact Refilwe Kgosiemang 011 487 7840 or 078 142 0521 or email: az.oc.gnitekramksb@ewlifer

About Stokvel Academy

Stokvel Academy is a division of BSK Marketing - a below-the-line strategic agency with over 25 years’ marketing experience, focusing on stokvels throughout South Africa. We are passionate about stokvels as a marketing segment. Our unique strategic knowledge and understanding of stokvels in diverse areas allow us to identify opportunities and roll out value-creating campaigns for our clients.

About Busi Skenjana

CEO of BSK Marketing and founder of Stokvel Academy. Busisiwe Skenjana, is regarded by many in her circle as the go-to person, “expert”, thought leader and pioneer; marketing and a stokvel Guru.