What is a tontine?

The principle in three steps

1. Everyone pays in. At each round, all the members pay in their share: the same amount, on the same date.
2. One member receives the pot. The whole pot goes to one of them, following the order agreed together or drawn at random.
3. The wheel turns. It starts again until everyone has received the pot, then a new cycle begins.

An example: ten members each pay in €100 a month. Each month, one of them receives €1,000. After ten months, everyone has paid in €1,000 and received €1,000.

One principle, dozens of names

Rotating savings are found on every continent. The name changes, the idea stays the same.

Tontine

French-speaking Africa and the diaspora.

Njangi, djanggi

Cameroon.

Likelemba

The two Congos.

Susu

Ghana and the Caribbean.

Esusu, ajo

Nigeria.

Stokvel

South Africa.

Chama

Kenya.

Ekub

Ethiopia.

Hagbad

Somalia.

Paluwagan

The Philippines.

Tanda

Mexico.

Djanggi takes its name from this tradition and is made for all of these groups.

Why it works

Group discipline

Alone, we put it off. Together, we keep our word: every round has a date, an amount and witnesses.

A large sum, all at once

When their turn comes, each member receives the whole pot. Enough to start a project without waiting for years.

Credit among people you know

When the group keeps a bank, it can lend to its members at rates decided together.

Organised solidarity

An emergency fund or a one-off appeal makes it possible to support a member through a hard time.

More than a pot

Many groups add other funds alongside their rotating savings.

• A bank, where everyone deposits freely and members can borrow.
• An emergency fund, to support a member.
• A pot for a shared project.
• Hosting costs, when a member hosts the meeting.

Where the notebook falls short

• The accounts depend on one person, and on one notebook.
• The sums get complicated quickly: multiple shares, interest, fines.
• Not everyone has the same version of the figures, and misunderstandings set in.
• Missed and late payments only come to light on the day of the meeting.

What an app like Djanggi changes

Djanggi is the group's shared account book. The money keeps moving between you, in cash or by transfer: the app records and calculates, the committee approves.

• Each member sees their own position and the group's.
• The group's rules are written once and apply to everyone.
• Meetings, reminders and reports all happen in the app.

Djanggi neither holds nor moves any money.

Getting your tontine off to a good start

1. Bring together people who trust one another.
2. Set the amount, the frequency and the payout order.
3. Write down the rules: lateness, absences, fines.
4. Appoint a committee: chair, treasurer, secretary, auditor.
5. Keep the accounts in one place, visible to everyone.