Do property stokvels allow for greater economic inclusion than traditional mortgages?
type: CreativeWork
description: Since the dawn of democracy in 1994 South Africa has made incredible strides in diverse areas, thereby cementing its place as one of the largest and most advanced economies on the African continent. However, there are areas where progress still leaves much to be desired such as the provision of quality housing, particularly to low-income earners in the country. Since 1994, the South African Government has adopted various interventions with the aim of expediting the supply of housing to ordinary South Africans and thereby ensure a right to adequate housing as enshrined in the South African Constitution. As the housing backlog seems to be everincreasing, another increasingly popular phenomenon in South Africa is that of a property stokvel. South Africans of all class put money together for the aim of gaining access to property in some form or another. Simply put, the concept of an ordinary stokvel, where South Africans would pool money to buy groceries at the end of a given year, has been adapted to enable people to now gain access to property (as opposed to simply purchasing groceries). There were three main objectives to the study. They are: to explore the challenges faced by South Africans of a lower economic class that prevent them gaining access to traditional mortgage financing from banks in South Africa; To understand the motivations for participating in property stokvels in South Africa and; To understand which, between property stokvels and mortgage financing, is more appropriate for acquiring property in South Africa. The sample of participants was drawn from individuals who have participated in property stokvels, and qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with these participants. From the thematic analysis of the interview data, the study found that that there are various challenges related to traditional housing finance applications such as a complex application process, the fear of rejection by banks, the associated anxieties, and the lack…
abstract: Since the dawn of democracy in 1994 South Africa has made incredible strides in diverse areas, thereby cementing its place as one of the largest and most advanced economies on the African continent. However, there are areas where progress still leaves much to be desired such as the provision of quality housing, particularly to low-income earners in the country. Since 1994, the South African Government has adopted various interventions with the aim of expediting the supply of housing to ordinary South Africans and thereby ensure a right to adequate housing as enshrined in the South African Constitution. As the housing backlog seems to be everincreasing, another increasingly popular phenomenon in South Africa is that of a property stokvel. South Africans of all class put money together for the aim of gaining access to property in some form or another. Simply put, the concept of an ordinary stokvel, where South Africans would pool money to buy groceries at the end of a given year, has been adapted to enable people to now gain access to property (as opposed to simply purchasing groceries). There were three main objectives to the study. They are: to explore the challenges faced by South Africans of a lower economic class that prevent them gaining access to traditional mortgage financing from banks in South Africa; To understand the motivations for participating in property stokvels in South Africa and; To understand which, between property stokvels and mortgage financing, is more appropriate for acquiring property in South Africa. The sample of participants was drawn from individuals who have participated in property stokvels, and qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with these participants. From the thematic analysis of the interview data, the study found that that there are various challenges related to traditional housing finance applications such as a complex application process, the fear of rejection by banks, the associated anxieties, and the lack…
author: Matshaka, Lethu Mzikaphalo
keywords: Development finance
date published: 2023
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:50Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Graduate School of Business (GSB)

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40552