Get Guardian on GoogleFor many young Nigerians, access to capital remains a significant barrier to meeting major financial commitments and pursuing personal ambitions. Whether covering essential expenses, funding education, travelling or investing in a business, these goals often require substantial lump sums, forcing people to dip into their savings or put important plans on hold.
What if I told you that there is a new financial product that could literally end your year on a good note? The app can literally raise capital for you upfront to settle pressing needs like rent, school fees or expand your business significantly. You can have access to capital and pay it back with zero interest. For example, take ₦100,000 and pay back ₦10,000 monthly for 10 months. Your amount could be higher or lower, depending on the circle you pick. It is essentially what we call an Ajo.
Ajo or Esusu schemes are not new to Nigerians. The entire ideology of the average household in this country was powered by women saving in groups like Ajo or men running cooperatives where they were eligible for interest-free loans to attend to various needs. Some of them could be school fees; others could be seed money to expand one’s business exponentially.
The Ajo model is also referenced in foreign literature.
Prominent researchers like Siwan Anderson and Jean-Marie Baland have viewed Ajo through gender and welfare lenses. However, the key theme all Western influences have come to agree on is that pooling money together is a commitment device solidified by trust. When you are socially and contractually obligated to a group, you can hardly let them down.
What is Rank?
Rank, formerly known as Moni, is a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-licensed institution with banking services provided through Rank Microfinance Bank, meaning user funds sit in a licensed, regulated financial institution rather than an unregulated wallet.
The company offers financial tools, including an everyday bank account for basic financial transactions, digital handles for seamless in-app interactions, and flexible or locked savings options – designed to help users effortlessly manage, protect and grow their money.
In the past year, the company has paid out more than $100 million to users across various communities, and these new products build directly on that momentum — institutionalising communal trust and lowering the barrier to entry for high-yield wealth accumulation.
How the product works
The product is called Money Circles. Like traditional Ajo, a group pools money together, and each member gets their guaranteed payout when their turn comes. Money Circles help people fund their big goals.
With Money Circles, your dreams and needs don’t need a deferred date. This product, developed by Rank, addresses the gap by bringing the familiar community savings model into a regulated digital structure, giving members access to capital while preserving their personal savings.
Individuals can save directly with the Rank account and be sure to get their money without defaults. They can also raise capital and get disbursal immediately. Money Circles has the protections built in. There is no admin to run off with the pot, because Rank, a regulated institution, holds and manages the funds. There are multiple circles to choose from, each with different amounts, group sizes and durations. Pick the one that powers your next move, and you can join an existing one without knowing anyone.
With Money Circles, you only answer for yourself. Rank guarantees every payout, so no one else’s default touches you. Everything lives in the app, tracked and automated.
Waiting for your turn pays. For the first time, the person in the last slot gets their money back plus a bonus. In a regular Ajo, the last person waits the longest and collects exactly what they put in. Not here. Rank holds the funds, so the wait is safe, and you don’t have to trust anyone to keep their word. Take the last slot if you can wait. Your patience gets paid.
With a solution like this, Nigerians don’t need to stress about obtaining credit with zero interest.
So why not opt for peace of mind this December?
Save on Money Circles via Rank. Get comfortable with access to capital that can build generational wealth.
Joseph Olaoluwa is a tech writer based in Lagos
