CAIRO: As an Egyptian band plays music at a young girl’s birthday party, the guests count their cash to add to the pot.
Microphone in hand, master of ceremonies Hassan El-Agami announces that one of the attendees has contributed 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($274), an unusually large amount.
But the money in the pot is not for the young girl — it is for her father whose turn it is to collect the contents of a “money pool.”
This cooperative savings system, also popular in other parts of the world such as Latin America, is helping Egyptians living in a period of deep economic hardship to find funding outside the banking system.
“Each participant pays specific amounts at parties until their turn comes, and then he throws his party and collects his money,” says El-Agami.
Most participants put in between 250 and 2,500 Egyptian pounds ($14-$140) per session, depending on their income.
Unlike other money pools in Egypt, participants in the same one as the girl’s father do not know each other.
This is where El-Agami and other coordinators become essential, collecting and keeping track of each person’s contribution, and fixing a schedule for future collections.
One party can cost around 50,000 pounds ($2,781) to organize, yet the person throwing it could collect as much as 200,000 pounds ($11,123) from the pool, according to El-Agami.
If participants in the pool do not attend, an organizer will visit their home to collect the money instead.
Such parties have become more common in Egypt in the past few years as economic conditions deteriorate amid the political, security, and economic turmoil in the aftermath of the January 2011 uprising.
Some Egyptians fear they could lose their savings if banks go bankrupt, or do not even have bank accounts. Others do not qualify for loans.
At another party, retailer Walid Abou Sarah is throwing a wedding party for his brother after contributing to a money pool for months.
The bride and groom sit on the side of the stage, ignored by most guests.
“Today the happiness is multiplied by two: My money-collection party, and my brother’s wedding,” says Abou Sarah.
Microphone in hand, master of ceremonies Hassan El-Agami announces that one of the attendees has contributed 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($274), an unusually large amount.
But the money in the pot is not for the young girl — it is for her father whose turn it is to collect the contents of a “money pool.”
This cooperative savings system, also popular in other parts of the world such as Latin America, is helping Egyptians living in a period of deep economic hardship to find funding outside the banking system.
“Each participant pays specific amounts at parties until their turn comes, and then he throws his party and collects his money,” says El-Agami.
Most participants put in between 250 and 2,500 Egyptian pounds ($14-$140) per session, depending on their income.
Unlike other money pools in Egypt, participants in the same one as the girl’s father do not know each other.
This is where El-Agami and other coordinators become essential, collecting and keeping track of each person’s contribution, and fixing a schedule for future collections.
One party can cost around 50,000 pounds ($2,781) to organize, yet the person throwing it could collect as much as 200,000 pounds ($11,123) from the pool, according to El-Agami.
If participants in the pool do not attend, an organizer will visit their home to collect the money instead.
Such parties have become more common in Egypt in the past few years as economic conditions deteriorate amid the political, security, and economic turmoil in the aftermath of the January 2011 uprising.
Some Egyptians fear they could lose their savings if banks go bankrupt, or do not even have bank accounts. Others do not qualify for loans.
At another party, retailer Walid Abou Sarah is throwing a wedding party for his brother after contributing to a money pool for months.
The bride and groom sit on the side of the stage, ignored by most guests.
“Today the happiness is multiplied by two: My money-collection party, and my brother’s wedding,” says Abou Sarah.
