For many South Africans, the idea of a stokvel needs very little explaining. You might have grown up watching your mother put money aside every month with a group of friends. Maybe your grandmother belonged to a burial society. Or perhaps December meant a house suddenly filled with groceries bought through a stokvel.
It is a system that has been around for generations, but the stokvel of today can look very different.
While grocery and burial stokvels remain part of the culture, South Africans are increasingly putting their money together to invest in property, start businesses, travel and build long-term wealth.
And this is not a small corner of the economy.
According to figures shared by Absa during Heritage Month, South Africa has an estimated 11 million stokvel members belonging to more than 800,000 groups across the country.
More than 50 years of doing it together
One group that shows just how deeply stokvels are woven into South African communities is the Basepedi Burial Society.
Established in 1972, the society has been operating for more than five decades and currently has 122 active members. It was previously recognised with the Lifetime Stokvel Achiever Award at the Absa Stokvel Awards.
When a member loses a loved one, the society does more than contribute money towards the funeral.
Funeral costs are covered in full, while members help with food, tents, equipment and their time. Younger men take on physically demanding work, younger women help serve and care for guests, while older members provide guidance and emotional support.
In many ways, it is the familiar idea of Ubuntu turned into a financial and social support system.
The group has also changed with the times. Since 1997, Basepedi has managed its contributions through an Absa club account, introducing more structure to the way its money is managed without abandoning the community values behind the society.
The modern stokvel looks different
That evolution is happening beyond Basepedi.
Traditional grocery and burial stokvels now exist alongside investment clubs, property stokvels, travel groups and collectives created specifically to support entrepreneurship and wealth creation. Technology is also changing how members communicate and manage their money.
For younger South Africans, that creates an interesting possibility. The same basic idea that helped previous generations pay for funerals, buy groceries or get through difficult periods can be applied to very different financial goals.
Instead of one person trying to save enough money to invest alone, a group can combine its financial power. Absa says a new generation of stokvel members is already using this approach to invest in property, fund businesses, create wealth and build financial legacies.
The goal may have changed, but the principle has not: people putting their resources together to achieve something that may be much harder to achieve alone.
Absa Stokvel Awards return for 2026
The evolution of stokvels is also at the centre of the 2026 Absa Stokvel Awards, which recognise groups preserving traditional forms of collective saving as well as those finding new ways to use the stokvel model.
Stokvels making a difference in their members’ lives or communities can be nominated for the awards. Absa says the programme aims to showcase groups contributing to financial inclusion, wealth creation and collective success in South Africa.
And perhaps that is why the stokvel has lasted as long as it has. The things South Africans are saving for may change. The way we manage money may change. Technology will definitely change.
But the idea behind the stokvel remains remarkably simple: sometimes, getting somewhere financially is easier when you don’t have to do it alone.
Could your stokvel be next?
The 2026 Absa Stokvel Awards are looking to recognise stokvels that are making a difference in the lives of their members and communities, from groups keeping long-standing traditions alive to those finding new ways to save, invest and build wealth together.
If your stokvel has a story worth sharing, nominations are now open.
Absa is encouraging stokvels across South Africa to enter the awards and showcase how their groups are contributing to financial inclusion, wealth creation and collective success. Like Basepedi Burial Society, the story of one group could become an example of what South Africans can achieve when they work together.
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