The problem Ajo solves

The Problem It Solves

Across Africa, community savings groups—known as Ajo in Nigeria, Esusu in West Africa, Stokvel in South Africa, and Chama in East Africa—are the foundation of informal finance. Millions depend on them to save, invest, and support one another. Despite their importance, these systems face major challenges:

• Missed payments and defaults: There is no reliable enforcement mechanism when members fail to contribute.
• Lack of transparency: Manual record-keeping and offline coordination often lead to errors and disputes.
• No automation: Payouts rely on human coordination, which can delay or complicate the process.
• Trust risks: As groups grow or move online, accountability weakens and fraud becomes more likely.
• Limited access: Many people cannot join trusted circles outside their local communities.

These challenges keep billions of dollars locked in informal, unprotected systems—leaving savers exposed to loss, inefficiency, and exclusion from modern financial infrastructure.

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Our Solution

Ajo brings the trusted culture of community savings on-chain. It transforms informal savings circles into transparent, automated, and secure smart contracts on the Base network.

With Ajo, users can create or join savings circles in three modes that fit their financial goals:

• Rotational Savings: Members contribute fixed amounts in each round, and one member receives the full payout per cycle. Smart contracts manage the schedule, enforce contributions, and automatically distribute payouts.
• Target Pool: Groups save collectively toward a shared financial goal, such as a project or purchase. Funds remain locked until the target is met, ensuring accountability and commitment.
• Flexible Pool: Members can deposit or withdraw anytime. Idle funds can be staked in Base-native DeFi protocols to generate yield for participants.

Every Ajo group operates through on-chain rules, eliminating intermediaries and human error. Members can verify every transaction, build a reputation from their contribution history, and participate from anywhere using a crypto wallet.

Ajo simplifies collective savings, reduces risk, and expands access to financial inclusion—turning a familiar system into a transparent, borderless, and trustless digital network.

Challenges I ran into

Challenges I Ran Into

One of the main challenges was managing group contributions and payouts securely through smart contracts. Ensuring that each member’s deposit was recorded correctly and that payouts were automated without manual interference required careful contract logic and testing.

I also faced issues integrating the frontend with the smart contract, especially when updating group states in real time after each transaction. To solve this, I implemented proper event listeners and wallet connection handling to keep the interface synchronized with on-chain data.

Another ongoing challenge is displaying a group to a new user’s address once they are added to a group. The logic for syncing on-chain membership data with the user’s dashboard is still being refined. I plan to fix this by indexing group membership events or using an off-chain listener to dynamically fetch and render the user’s associated groups.

For now, I’m using a mocked USDT contract address for testing:

NEXT_PUBLIC_TOKEN_ADDRESS=0x408d5D0C25E588875D818f3161b3326D5d18EcAd

Lastly, due to limited time, I wasn’t able to capture the full potential of the project in this build, but I plan to refine and expand it after the hackathon.

These challenges have helped me strengthen both my smart contract development and frontend integration skills, while shaping a clearer roadmap for improving Ajo.

Link to the GitHub Repo of your project

https://github.com/Sendi0011/Ajo.git

Live URL of your project

https://ajo-eight.vercel.app/

What is your product’s unique value proposition?

Unique Value Proposition

Ajo brings Africa’s most trusted community savings culture on-chain, combining the reliability of traditional thrift systems with the transparency and automation of blockchain. Unlike existing savings apps or DeFi protocols, Ajo is designed around how people already save — in groups, with shared goals, and a foundation of mutual trust.

What makes Ajo unique is its three fully automated savings modes powered by smart contracts:

• Rotational Savings: Members contribute fixed amounts in cycles, and one member receives the total payout each round. Smart contracts enforce contributions, track participation, and automate payouts.
• Target Pool: Groups save collectively toward a shared goal, with funds locked until the target amount is reached. Smart contracts guarantee that funds are only released when conditions are met.
• Flexible Pool: Members can deposit or withdraw anytime, while idle funds automatically generate yield through integrated Base DeFi protocols.

Ajo eliminates the need for a central collector, reduces fraud, and provides transparent, verifiable savings history for every participant.

The alpha build demonstrates this value by allowing users to:

• Create and join savings groups on-chain.
• Contribute and track all transactions transparently.
• Receive automated payouts without intermediaries.
• Explore yield generation from idle funds.

Through this, Ajo validates that community-driven savings can operate safely and efficiently in a decentralized environment, giving millions of Africans access to transparent, automated, and inclusive financial tools.

Who is your target customer?

**Target Customer **

Ajo is built for individuals and communities who already participate in informal group savings systems — such as ajo, esusu, tontines, or susu — and want a safer, more transparent way to manage their contributions digitally.

Our target users include:

• Young professionals and small business owners who save collectively.
• Community groups and cooperatives that rotate savings or provide mutual financial support.
• Diaspora communities looking to contribute to local savings groups securely from anywhere.
• Friends, Colleagues and Office workers

Through early user interviews and prototype testing, we found that most participants value the trust and discipline of group savings but worry about fraud, mismanagement, and lack of transparency. Ajo directly addresses these concerns by automating savings cycles and payouts through blockchain smart contracts, ensuring every transaction is visible, secure, and tamper-proof.

This validation confirms that our audience is not only ready for a digital version of ajo but actively seeking a transparent and reliable alternative.

Who are your closest competitors and how are you different?

Competitors and Differentiation

Ajo operates in a space that overlaps with community savings apps and decentralized finance tools. Our closest competitors include:

• Esusu – https://www.esusurent.com: Focuses on rent reporting and credit building for group savings but relies on traditional financial infrastructure and centralized systems.
• Tanda – https://www.tandapay.com: Enables digital savings groups but manages funds centrally, which still requires trust in the platform.
• Mwezi – https://www.mwezi.app: Offers digital rotating savings for African users, but payouts and operations depend on a middleman.
• Piggyvest – https://www.piggyvest.com/: Offers a secure online savings platform that makes saving possible by combining discipline plus flexibility to make you grow your savings. They do not offer the rotational saving plans

How Ajo is different:

• Fully decentralized: Ajo removes intermediaries by using blockchain smart contracts for savings and payouts.
• Transparent and tamper-proof: Every contribution and disbursement is visible on-chain, ensuring trust among group members.
• Global accessibility: Users anywhere can join savings circles and contribute using stablecoins, without needing a bank account.
• Community-first approach: Ajo is built around existing cultural savings habits, making it more familiar and easier to adopt than typical DeFi tools.

This combination of cultural relevance and blockchain transparency sets Ajo apart from both traditional and Web3 competitors.

What is your distribution strategy and why?

Distribution Strategy

Ajo’s growth strategy is community-driven and partnership-based, reflecting the social nature of group savings.

We plan to reach users through:

• Community partnerships: Collaborating with local cooperatives, trade associations, and cultural savings groups to onboard existing ajo or esusu circles.
• Influencer and creator campaigns: Partnering with trusted community figures who already organize or promote savings groups.
• Diaspora outreach: Working with diaspora organizations and remittance networks to help users contribute to savings circles back home.
• On-chain community incentives: Offering token rewards or reduced fees for users who form and grow active savings circles.

This approach fits our audience because ajo groups are inherently social and rely on trust networks. By leveraging these existing communities instead of paid ads or cold acquisition, Ajo can grow organically while maintaining authenticity and trust — two key factors in community finance.