Guide BMD

Njangui, natt, susu, hui: the same mechanism, four continents

It is often believed that the tontine is African. It is human. Wherever banks have been lacking, people have invented the same thing — and given it a different name.

The BMD editorial team·14 juillet 2026·2 min read

One detail strikes anyone interested in tontines: the mechanism is almost identical from one end of the planet to the other, even though the groups practicing it have never spoken to each other. This is not an idea that traveled. It is an idea that is found, again and again, because it meets a universal need.

In Africa

• Njangui (or djangi) — Cameroon. Often linked to a neighborhood or village association, with regular meetings.
• Natt — Senegal. Frequently carried out by women's groups, who also use it as a tool for mutual aid and investment.
• Susu — Ghana, and extending to the Caribbean, brought by the diaspora.
• Esusu, ajo — Nigeria, among the Yoruba and Igbo.
• Adashe — Hausa countries. Stokvel — South Africa. Chama — Kenya.
• Kixikila — Angola, present throughout the Lusophone diaspora.

In Asia

Asia has pushed the mechanism further than anyone else, by adding auctions. Instead of a predetermined order, members compete each round: the one who agrees to receive the least goes first, and the difference benefits the others.

• Hui (合會) — China and the Chinese diaspora. This is the quintessential auction form.
• Tanomoshikō (頼母子講) and mujin (無尽) — Japan. Practices documented for centuries.
• Gye (계) — Korea. Still very alive, including in urban areas.
• Committee, bhishi — India and Pakistan.

Elsewhere

• Tanda (Mexico), cundina, pandero (Peru), natillera (Colombia), san (Dominican Republic).
• Jam'iya (جمعية) — Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Levant.
• Chyornaya kassa (« black box ») — Russian-speaking space, where the term refers to a mutual aid fund among colleagues.

The misleading word: 'tontine' in English

What this universality tells us

That the tontine is not a stopgap for countries without banks. It is a response to something that banks do not know how to do: lend solely based on reputation, within a group where everyone knows each other.

The bank evaluates a file. The tontine evaluates a person. It is not the same thing, and one does not replace the other.