What Is A Susu?

Are you wondering what is a Susu? If you are from the Caribbean or Africa, you may have heard the term Susu mentioned, when it comes to accumulating wealth or saving for a particular purpose.

Your relatives may boast about all they were able to accomplish because they were a part of many susus over the years. If you are interested in learning more about this informal saving method, we encourage you to continue reading.

Why Should I Join A Susu?

A Susu (sometimes spelled sou-sou, isusu, esusu or osusu, also known as a Pardner) is an informal savings / lending club that is usually formed by family members or friends. It falls into the official classification of a rotating savings and credit association.

How Does A Traditional Susu Work?

Here is a step by step guide to how a Susu works.

1. Find a group of family or friends who have financial goals that they want to reach.

2. Choose a banker. If you are the one who is running the Susu, you may be the banker. The banker’s job is to collect the contributions and distribute them to the participants.

3. Choose hands. If you are not familiar with susu terminology. A hand is the lump sum that you receive when you turn rolls around. When susu hands are paid is agreed upon beforehand. It is usually monthly, but there are some groups who decide on a fortnightly payment distribution schedule as well.

If the susu is successful and all the participants are happy, chances are your group will be willing to participate again.

Why Do People Join Susus?

People usually join susus for a number of reasons. Financial freedom is usually an umbrella reason. However, here are some of the specific purposes:

Specific financial goals – You may have an upcoming financial commitment that you may have to meet.

Common obligations can be as follows:

Vacation Costs – Depending on when you are planning to go on holiday, you may choose that time to receive your hand.

University / School Fees – Every student knows when the next semester is going to start and when their fees are due. A susu payment can come in handy to cover this cost.

Appliance Purchases – You may need to buy a stove, washer, or a refrigerator. This lump sum may go a long way to helping to cover the cost.

Can A Susu Go Wrong?

It is rare, but it is not impossible. The susu system is based on trust. Unfortunately, sometimes people can let you down. Sometimes, people may not pay their contributions on time and this can cause problems within the susu.

There have been times, that people after they received their hand and were never to be heard from again. However, we must reiterate that this is highly improbable since susus are usually formed by people who know each other. People are often kept in check by their relationships and they feel compelled to meet their obligations.

So, if you are looking for a way to start saving and maybe make a great group of friends along the way, a susu might be the right arrangement for you! Your financial standing will certainly improve if you decide to join a susu.

How Is Prosperity Pardner Different?

Unlike traditional Pardners, Susus and Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs), we pay you a reward for using our service.

Also we are not able to do the traditional rotational weekly or monthly payout, where each person receives a turn or ‘hand’.

Here’s why. Traditional Pardners and Susus depend on long established circles of trust, such as family members or work colleagues. The reason for the deep trust element is that 1 person is responsible for holding or safeguarding the money until it is paid out to the group members.

This is in addition to the fact that some people will receive their payout before they have paid anything!

We obviously cannot do that. We want to make our service as widely available as possible, which means we will be dealing with hundreds of people who we don’t know. It would be irresponsible of us to risk your money in that way.