How a chama merry-go-round works, and how to keep the books

Guide · Updated 28 September 2026 · By the Savings Circle team at FutureTech

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A chama (Swahili for “group”) is a savings group common in Kenya and across East Africa. Many chamas run a merry-go-round: every member contributes the same amount at each meeting, and the whole collection goes to one member, until everyone has received it once.

The merry-go-round has no interest. Members use their payout for school fees, rent, stock for a business or household goods. Some chamas also save part of each contribution together, lend to members or invest as a group; this guide is about the rotating part.

How does a chama merry-go-round work?

  1. The members agree the contribution, how often it is due (often weekly or monthly) and the order of recipients.
  2. Officials are chosen, usually a chairperson, a treasurer and a secretary. The treasurer tracks the money; the secretary keeps the records.
  3. Each round members send their contribution, very often by M-Pesa, to the treasurer or directly to that round’s recipient.
  4. The recipient receives the full amount, and the rotation continues until every member has been paid.

How is the order decided?

Chamas draw lots, follow the order members joined, or agree the order at a meeting based on who needs money when. The decision is usually written in the minutes, and a record everyone can check prevents most arguments later.

What goes wrong in a chama?

How do you run a chama with Savings Circle?

  1. Create the group. Choose “chama” as its name type, then set the currency and what each person pays per round. The app uses your word on every screen and reminder.
  2. Add members from your contacts. They don’t install anything.
  3. Set the order. Run a random draw in front of everyone, or enter the order you agreed. A random draw saves its seed, so anyone can check later that it wasn’t changed. Members can ask to swap turns, and the swap is recorded too.
  4. Record payments as they come in, by cash, bank or mobile wallet, with a screenshot as proof if you like. It works offline and syncs later.
  5. Remind the late ones. One tap opens WhatsApp, SMS or Telegram with a polite message in their language.
  6. Record each payout. Every entry is dated. A correction is added as a new entry, and the original stays in the history.

Savings Circle never holds or moves money. Members pay each other the way they already do; the app is the shared record of who paid, who is next and what is owed.

Other names for the same idea

In Kenya it is a chama or merry-go-round. The same system is a committee in Pakistan and India, a tanda in Mexico, a susu in Ghana, an arisan in Indonesia and a paluwagan in the Philippines. Economists call all of these rotating savings and credit associations, or ROSCAs. Savings Circle works for any of them.

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