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Informal Financial Service Institutions for Survival: African Women and Stokvels in Urban South Africa, 1930–1998

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  • Verhoef, Grietjie

Abstract

Traditional kinship relations denied African women access to property and cash income. As they moved out of the traditional sector to urban centers, women created opportunities for independent earnings, and they displayed remarkable entrepreneurial spirit in undertaking informal economic activities. One of their tactics was the utilization of a type of rotating credit and savings organization (ROSCA), the stokvel, to mobilize savings outside the formal financial structure. This article brings together scattered research on stokvels, traces their past and present uses by African women, and concludes with an exploration of the reasons for the persistence of these forms despite the development of sophisticated financial structures in modern South Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Verhoef, Grietjie, 2001. "Informal Financial Service Institutions for Survival: African Women and Stokvels in Urban South Africa, 1930–1998," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 259-296, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:entsoc:v:2:y:2001:i:02:p:259-296_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Y. Svetiev & E. Dermineur & U. Kolanisi, 2022. "Financialization and Sustainable Credit: Lessons from Non-Intermediated Transactions?," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 673-698, December.
    2. Adnan Shoaib & Muhammad Ayub Siddiqui, 2020. "Why do people participate in ROSCA saving schemes? Findings from a qualitative empirical study," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 47(2), pages 177-189, June.
    3. Simba, Amon & Martins Ogundana, Oyedele & Braune, Eric & Dana, Léo–Paul, 2023. "Community financing in entrepreneurship: A focus on women entrepreneurs in the developing world," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    4. repec:ilo:ilowps:357690 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Aliber, Michael., 2002. "Informal finance in the informal economy : promoting decent work among the working poor," ILO Working Papers 993576903402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Gizelle Demarie Willows, 2019. "South African individual retirement savings: An analysis of the social factors," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 22(3), pages 303-328, September.
    7. Linus Nkem & Robertson K. Tengeh, 2017. "Drivers for the Formation of Informal Financial Associations by Immigrant Entrepreneurs in South Africa: the Case of Cameroonians," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 13(5), pages 107-122, OCTOBER.
    8. Akim Tafadzwa Lukwa & Feyisayo Odunitan-Wayas & Estelle Victoria Lambert & Olufunke A. Alaba & on behalf of the “Savings for Health” IDRC Collaborators, 2022. "Can Informal Savings Groups Promote Food Security and Social, Economic and Health Transformations, Especially among Women in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A Narrative Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.
    9. Mabika Shingirirayi & Tengeh K. Robertson, 2021. "Sustaining Grocery Stokvels: The Dynamics And Factors That Influence Their Establishment," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(2), pages 69-86, June.
    10. Sebastian O Uremadu & Florence O Ariwa & Charity E Duru Uremadu, 2018. "Impact of Government Agricultural Expenditure on Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria," Current Investigations in Agriculture and Current Research, Lupine Publishers, LLC, vol. 5(3), pages 679-688, November.
    11. Linkow, Benjamin, 2009. "Fraying of the Ties that Bind: HIV/AIDS and Informal Contract Enforcement in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa," MPRA Paper 21769, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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