Last December, when most people were in holiday mode, a handful of career women, friends and acquaintances came together to conceptualise an investment stokvel with a difference.

Silindile Leseyane, 34, and Thandi Mbonwa, 35, among others, came up with Ingcebo Women's Investment Group, a modern saving and investment method that has since hit the ground running.

Ingcebo, meaning wealth, as coined by Mbonwa, aims to plough their money into a number of investment schemes.

"In the first year we decided to cap the membership to only 10 members. We then looked at a couple of investment options because we wanted to start our own unique thing," explains Leseyane.

"We then opened a stokvel account; fortunately we got wind of the app Stokfella, a smarter and tech-savvy tool that is saving us time and money, an effective tool we are using to manage the day-to-day running of the group investment scheme."

Leseyane describes the app as having eased the headaches of having to go to banks for statements as every member has access and can monitor the investments of the group at the touch of a button.

Ingcebo membership joining fee is a R5000 nonrefundable fee. Members contribute R2000 a month.

Members hold a teleconference-style meeting on a monthly basis, face-to-face meetings are held quarterly but they chat among each other on a regular basis. If a member misses two meetings consecutively, for what ever reason and without a valid explanation, they are fined.

"We envisaged to start on a small scale and grow with the scheme because we wanted to leave a legacy for our families and kids. It's all about gathering wealth for generations to come.

"For us to have something we can be proud of and show for the years we have been working," chipped in Mbonwa.

"We learn from each other but we are governed by our constitution, the founding principle from which all members must abide to make a success of the group investment scheme.

"We've also sought the services of legal and financial experts in different fields. However, some of our members have the expertise as career women," Mbonwa said.

Leseyane added: "Currently we are at a foundation phase, building a base. While contributions are in the group trust account, we aim to plough them into different funds and schemes in future - schemes such as unit trusts, equity, private and commercial property and shareholding.

"Ultimately it is up to us to decide what works best . When our year ends in March, key decisions will be taken." 

MTSHAZOX@SUNDAYWORLD.CO.ZA