What is Ajo / Esusu?

Ajo (Yoruba) and esusu are the traditional Nigerian ways of saving together. Members agree to contribute a fixed amount every day, week or month. A collector, often called the ajo or esusu agent, goes round the market or the office to collect the money and writes each payment down.

How the schemes work

There are two common forms. In a rotating scheme, the pot collected in each round goes to one member in turn until everyone has had a payout. In a daily contribution scheme, each member saves towards their own balance, typically for a month, and the collector keeps one day's contribution as a fee.

Example: a trader contributes ₦2,000 every market day for 30 days. At the end of the cycle she has contributed ₦60,000 and, under a one-day fee, receives ₦58,000 back.

Where it goes wrong

On paper cards, a missed entry, a wrong total or an agent who does not remit the day's collection is hard to spot until a member asks for a payout. That is why cooperatives, thrift collectors and microfinance banks that formalise ajo and esusu move them onto a ledger where every contribution is recorded against the member and the cash it came into.

In Zenus Banking Pro

Contribution plans model shares, savings, welfare and thrift (ajo and esusu) at a daily, weekly or monthly frequency, with an amount per period, an optional target amount and a start and end date. Each contribution is posted with a reference and the period it covers, against the cash account that received it, so the plan shows the total contributed and the periods completed, and the general ledger stays balanced. Field officers can take deposits on the Android app, where they are submitted for supervisor approval before they post.