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| KASINOMICS’ IN ACTION: Members of the Masihambisane Savings Group hold their weekly meeting to repay loans and tally up their savings in Swayimane, near Wartburg. (Photo: Kim McCall) |
AS Msinga’s ‘white Zulu’ GG Alcock explains in his book Kasinomics, South Africa’s deep rural areas
have informal economies that turn billions of rands a year, and possibly more
entrepreneurial talent than the formal system knows how to handle.
One organisation that does know how to free up this potential is
the Zimele non-profit organisation, which has helped some 2 000 women to break
out of the poverty cycle, using methods from India combined with the resilience
of the mamas and gogos that form the backbone of KZN’s economy.
At the first level of Zimele’s self-empowering system, the women
help each other in self-help groups and make small loans from their group at 10%
interest, with all loans repaid in a month.
At the second level, a cluster level association of up to 10
savings groups help each other to start and manage bigger businesses, like
burial schemes or transport businesses.
At the third level, the federation level, members delegated from
each cluster act as a leadership council to guide economic, social and
healthcare programmes on a wider scale.
Founder Rosetta Stander said she is especially proud of the
Swayimane self-help group, which grew to federation level in only eight years, a
process that in India takes 30 years.
“We don’t do for people what they, given the correct guidance, can
do for themselves,” said Stander. More info on www.zimelecommunity.co.za.
