Likelemba is an African solidarity savings mechanism where several members put a certain sum of money in a "pot" and, every month, the total amount contained in the pot is then donated to one of the participating members - a sort of little lottery.
Example
Twelve people - typically women - put 100€ every month in their "likelemba pot". Month 1, member 1 - normally chosen by chance - gets 11 x 100€ = 1,100 €. Month 2, another member gets elected and rewarded with the 1,100 €, etc.
Benefits
The secret of the success of likelemba is its simplicity and formula whereby a lot of small amounts that every member can easily spare make one big prize. The winner has a fairly large amount with which he/she can do something extraordinary and, hopefully, break out of a financial circle of misery or difficult lifestyle.