Ajo – The Means to Serve Your Financial Needs.

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In the world today, you can’t meet all your needs but some means can help you in achieving your financial goals. Ajo in local parlance involves a group of people coming together to save a certain amount either daily, weekly or monthly and this amount is pulled to a person on a such basis until the cycle rotation is completed amongst group members.

Ajo or Esusu or Adashe is a long-aged communal practice of reaching each other’s business or endeavors via micro units of contributions. In Yoruba, these saving schemes are called Ajo while it is referred to as Adashe in the north, and the Ibo word for it is Esusu. 

This group serves a lot of functions in society, one of which is the creation and encouragement of a savings culture amongst the people. It also serves as a source of borrowing in emergencies, a way to grow savings, and a means to achieve a communal goal.

In an era of fiscal constraints and increasingly stringent capital requirements, at AjoMoney one of our areas of focus in the capital market business is debt crowdfunding where we focused on Ajo. This is because it is more flexible than traditional banks as it makes repayment easy for our customers and with this we get more reach among the masses. 

What are the benefits of Ajo/Esusu/Adashe groups?

Human wants are insatiable and because we aim to achieve a few of our wishes, there is pressure on our finances. Ajo, therefore, aims to address this pressure by serving as a source of emergency funding for people. 

But in the quest of doing this, people tend to sway from the primary purpose Ajo was created to serve. It is a different thing to join a group and a different thing for such a group to serve its purpose for you. Ajo groups are meant to be very beneficial to their members because it involves borrowing without interest. 

How Ajo can serve its purpose for you

To prevent the lump sum from being squandered In the long run, here are the ways through which Ajo can serve its purpose for you. 

Name your goals

Before you spend money, you should consider if doing so will help you achieve your goals. Having lots of money makes one feel financially secure. This also goes to when a lump sum is collected from an Ajo Group. When financial goals are not named, the lump sum gotten from Ajo groups achieves nothing. 

The main aim of Ajo is to promote community financing and squandering the money defies the reason for participating.

Before you join an Ajo group or before you take a lump sum Write down your financial goals and with this, you know what you are working towards.

Be realistic and specific 

Be realistic in the group you choose to join. If you can’t afford to join a group that saves  20,000 Naira monthly, then don’t because when a member defaults, it disrupts the total balance of the group.

There is usually a strain that comes with everyday life when you opt for an Ajo group that doesn’t fit your earnings. To avoid being entangled in this, check your earnings and determine how much you can spare into savings in such a cycle and opt for it.

Take action 

Once you have your goals and priorities set straight then you can take action by joining a group. 

On the AjoMoney platform, a customer must apply for a credibility check before joining a public group. This is so because, for us, credibility is currency. This check is usually done to determine the correct trust score of the customer. With this, the financial advisors can determine if you are eligible to join certain Ajo Groups with varying amounts. 

For a private group, all that needs to be done is to create the group, set the measures ( amount, schedule), and invite others to save along .

Keep track of your expenses

After a lump sum is collected from an Ajo group, you can track your activity to identify areas where you can reduce or increase expenditure. To have a free financial life, this aspect is very important as it helps in knowing what your money goes into. See how it helped Maryam curb excessive Spending.

On the AjoMoney App, there is a column to check for transactions. Checking this regularly gives you an idea of where you put your money every month. so all you have to do is review your spending on a regular basis to achieve a more productive financial life.

Invest your money

When the reason for joining an Ajo group has been realized. There is a probability that the lump sum obtained isn’t exhausted. When this occurs, a member can start investing.

On the AjoMoney App, there is a feature on investment where customers can invest within various ranges. These clans introduce both a timeframe and the level of risk involved, considerations that will guide your investment decisions. This becomes a win-win situation.

In conclusion, Happiness and financial security don’t just magically happen. You have to plan for them. Identifying your goals and planning ways to reach them are essential to building a solid future. At AjoMoney, we specialize in helping people construct the kind of life they want financially.

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