How To Start An Investment Club In Nigeria

The basics of starting an investment club in Nigeria with Cowrywise Saving Circles

Pooling money as groups isn’t an alien act to Africans. For centuries we have come together as a people, in our various communities, to gather our resources and work towards common goals. With this beautiful act, we have been able to write unique and beautiful stories that have helped changed the lives of many for the better.

Though this has been a good development tool, it has been fraught with various challenges. The challenges include fraud, inconsistent contributions, and risky investments. With the Cowrywise Circles, we have been able to tackle these challenges without taking away the essence of investing together.

An investment club is a group of people who pool their money to make investments. Usually, investment clubs are organized as partnerships and after the members study different investments, the group decides to buy or sell based on a majority vote of the members. Club meetings may be educational and each member may actively participate in investment decisions.- Investopedia

How can Cowrywise Circles help?

Cowrywise Circles can be used for either collection of funds for reinvestment in landed properties, for instance, or investment challenges.

Collection Circles

Collections are ideal for group projects. Members can save into the club but only the admin or the group creator can withdraw funds on maturity. For the security of invested funds, all club members have to approve before the withdrawal of funds.
Funds are pooled over a period of time, during which they are invested in T-bills and government bonds. At maturity, funds can either be rolled over or withdrawn to handle a further investment project like purchasing a landed property.

Challenge Circles

Challenges are ideal for motivating individual investments in a group setting. Members can invest with the group and can withdraw their capital and interest into their individual bank accounts on maturity. This is ideal for investment clubs who just want to help members motivate each other towards individual investment goals.

How can you set up an investment club with Cowrywise Circles?

1. Download the latest Cowrywise app.
2. If you don’t have an account, signup to create a free account.
3. As a new user, simply tap “Create A New Savings Plan” while as an old user you can tap “Actions” and then “Create A New Savings Plan”
4. Tap “Savings Circle” and choose between “Collections” and “Challenges”
5. Pick a befitting name. “Upcoming Billionaires” isn’t a bad one ;)
6. Set a target amount
7. Set the start and maturity dates
8. Invite the club members to join you.

What If…

1. What if someone joins the circle midway. When will the person’s savings/investments mature? The maturity date is group based and not individual based. Hence, maturity is subject to the date set by the creator.
2. What if we don’t meet the target amount before the maturity date? You can choose to either extend the maturity date or withdraw the funds you have built already, even if it didn’t meet the target amount.
3. What if some members want to save daily and some others weekly/monthly? Circles are flexible enough to allow members to set up individual preferences.
4. What if a member wants to top up randomly? All members can top up their contributions/savings at any time they want to. This can help them cover up for missed savings.

Download the cowrywise app now to get started

What would you be using the Cowrywise Circles for? Drop a comment to share your ideas with us. If you have any challenges, you can always reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram or via email: support@cowrywise.com