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How African Mom Used Temu to Help 800,000 Women Save Big
In a world where rising living costs are squeezing African households, one South Africa mother based in Durban has transformed her personal frugality into a powerful force for community upliftment. Meet Ncumisa Ndelu, a 48-year-old whose determination to stretch her family budget ignited 1 Family, 1 Stockpile, a thriving Facebook community now connecting over 800,000 members.
What began as shared savvy shopping tips among friends has blossomed into a nationwide financial empowerment network. This effort is enabling women across South Africa and Nigeria to save significantly, launch their own ventures, and cultivate financially resilient futures.
The start of a community
Driven by a desire to help African women navigate economic pressures, former journalist and communications professional Ncumisa Ndelu launched 1 Family, 1 Stockpile in 2016. Her initial concept was simple: to share effective shopping hacks, budgeting strategies, and the benefits of strategic stockpiling.
The group rapidly became a trusted “sisterhood,” fostering financial literacy and providing robust community support. Today, it stands as a vital platform where women exchange savings techniques, share valuable deals and discounts, celebrate their financial achievements, and encourage each other towards better money management – all grounded in empowerment, education, and shared experiences.
A game-changer in her journey
A significant turning point in Ncumisa’s journey was discovering Temu, a global e-commerce platform that unlocked unprecedented savings for her household. Ironically, her introduction to the app began with a cautionary post about international deliveries. Intrigued, she decided to try it herself, ordering security lights following a home break-in.
“Once I received my first delivery, I was hooked,” she recalls. “I placed my second order less than two weeks later.”
From everyday household essentials to art supplies, school materials, and beauty products, this direct-from-factory marketplace became her key to unlocking savings. One purchase alone yielded savings of over R5,000, propelling her towards a research-driven approach to online shopping.
According to a recent survey, 46% of South African respondents report saving more than half of their shopping budget by using Temu, with nearly 40% making purchases on the platform at least once a month.
Stretching Rands, growing futures
Ncumisa has turned everyday budgeting into a powerful tool for growth, both at home and in her community. By making smarter, more affordable purchases, she’s been able to invest in her children’s education, fuel their creative passions with art supplies, and support her long-standing mission to feed the homeless. Crucially, this approach has fostered financial literacy in her children, evolving from simple piggy banks to daily lessons in budgeting, comparative shopping, and mindful spending.
This spirit of empowerment extends into her online community. Starting with just 50 members, it has surged into a nationwide network of over 800,000 women who share practical savings advice, celebrate milestones like paying off debt or buying a first home, and offering each other unwavering support. “The group thrives on trust,” Ncumisa explains. “When we share what’s helped us, it empowers someone else to thrive.”
Ncumisa shares her top 5 budgeting tips:
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Establish a proactive household budget: Create a standing budget well before payday, viewing it as a dynamic document that evolves with your family’s needs.
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Involve children in the budgeting process: Cultivate financial literacy early by having your children participate. “In my household, the kids “pitch” for what they want the budget to be spent on, learning valuable negotiation and prioritisation skills.”
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Prioritise essential deductions: Aim to let your salary remain untouched on payday. Allow debit orders for crucial expenses to run first, then manage the remaining funds for utilities and other needs.
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Active saving and investing: Your budget should always include dedicated line items for savings, whether for short-term goals, long-term, or significant purchases. Similarly, make a point to allocate funds for investments, ensuring your money works for you.
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Seek out sales and rewards yourself: Consciously try to avoid paying full price by actively looking for sales and discounts. “This is where platforms like Temu have really helped me. Budget for those personal rewards, whether it’s a small treat or a bigger experience like travel. Recognising your hard work is a vital part of a sustainable budget!”
From budget tips to national recognition
Ncumisa’s journey from sharing simple saving tips to being recognised as Daily Maverick’s 2023 Businessperson of the Year is a testament to the power of purpose-driven leadership. Her remarkable ability to connect personal financial choices with broader community upliftment has ignited a powerful wave of economic empowerment, particularly among women.
This growing community has empowered thousands of women to take control of their finances, helping them become more secure, break free from debt, and feel confident in managing their money day-to-day. This is about more than just saving a few rands; it’s about building a future where women don’t just survive, they thrive.
Ncumisa is leading that charge, using her own experience to show what’s possible with determination and the right tools. Through her example, she’s not only creating lasting wealth for her family but also passing down essential financial skills to the next generation – proving that true empowerment begins at home.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An institutional investor, First Ally Capital, has strengthened a leading Nigerian financial technology company, Mathesis Analytics, to scale its proprietary credit decisioning infrastructure.
It made this possible by injecting fresh capital into the firm, which specialises in AI-powered credit decisioning infrastructure, an action that will directly support the growth and scaling of Mathesis’ core mission of providing the intelligence and infrastructure needed to bridge the credit gap for millions of unscored or underscored individuals across Nigeria.
With this investment, Mathesis will enable financial institutions to confidently assess and extend credit to borrowers who lack a formal credit history by leveraging an expanded pool of alternative behavioural and transactional data.
To date, Mathesis’ systems have supported more than 8 million loans for over 2 million unique borrowers in Nigeria, and the company is actively deploying its infrastructure to establish a growing pan-African footprint.
With the investment from First Ally Capital, Mathesis is well positioned to transform how the credit ecosystem operates, driving financial inclusion in partnership with lenders across the continent.
A significant barrier to credit access in Nigeria, which prides itself on being Africa’s largest economy, is data fragmentation. Borrowers frequently build positive financial behaviours across multiple digital platforms by repaying microfinance loans, saving through fintech wallets, or servicing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) facilities.
However, under traditional credit infrastructure, these achievements remain invisible to new lenders.
Mathesis addresses this challenge through the concept of Personal Equity—the quantified expression of an individual’s financial behaviour aggregated across every institution with which they have transacted.
By translating these disparate signals into a precise, portable measure of creditworthiness, Mathesis creates a comprehensive credit identity that reflects the full breadth of a person’s financial life.
“True financial inclusion cannot be achieved in a vacuum; it requires structural collaboration in which lenders and fintech companies work as partners within the ecosystem.
“This investment from First Ally Capital validates our approach to reshaping credit infrastructure. By quantifying Personal Equity, we empower lenders to safely look beyond the constraints of formal credit histories and recognise a borrower’s true creditworthiness. This capital enables us to accelerate our pan-African expansion while maintaining the robust, institutional-grade infrastructure our partners rely on,” the chief executive of Mathesis Analytics, Winston Osuchukwu, stated.
On his part, the chief executive of First Ally Capital, Mr Ebenezer Olufowose, said, “At First Ally Capital, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop destination for financial solutions, offering a diverse portfolio of services ranging from investment banking and asset management to trusteeship, inclusive banking, and real estate.
“Our investment in Mathesis Analytics reflects our strong belief in the company’s vision and our commitment to supporting forward-thinking enterprises that deliver excellence.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chief executive of Canal+ Africa, Mr David Mignot, has disclosed that MultiChoice is now fully integrated into the media group.
Mr Mignot disclosed this via a statement issued on Thursday, noting that this development marks a new phase in the evolution of one of Africa’s leading pay television operators.
He noted that the integration positions MultiChoice within a global media organisation with an extensive international footprint.
“MultiChoice is now a full subsidiary of a truly international media group operating in 70 countries. The group was founded in France, is listed in London and Johannesburg, and has a strong African presence with operations in more than 45 countries,” Mr Mignot said.
The statement underscores the scale of the combined business, highlighting Canal+’s global reach alongside its significant investments across Africa.
The completion of the transaction is expected to strengthen MultiChoice’s position in the African media and entertainment market by giving it access to the broader resources, expertise and international capabilities of the Canal+ Group, while reinforcing the group’s commitment to the continent.
MultiChoice operates across sub-Saharan Africa through platforms including DStv and GOtv, serving millions of subscribers with entertainment, sports and news content.
By Adedapo Adesanya
FoodCourt, a Nigerian cloud kitchen startup backed by Y Combinator, has suspended operations after months of unpaid salaries and mounting debts to vendors triggered a staff strike and forced the company to halt customer orders, according to a report by TechCabal.
The publication reported that customers first noticed on March 4 that they could no longer place orders through the FoodCourt app after the company disabled ordering as kitchen workers, delivery personnel and branch staff embarked on strike over unpaid wages. The company also owed outstanding payments to vendors.
By April 19, FoodCourt had temporarily shut its last operating branch after suspending activities across its Lagos and Abuja locations while seeking fresh funding and restructuring the business, according to the report.
The company’s chief executive, Mr Henry Nneji, said the decision to pause operations was not caused by a single issue but by a combination of operational, organisational and working-capital challenges.
“It’s important to clarify that the decision to pause operations wasn’t driven by one single issue. We reached a point where it became clear that continuing to patch those issues while operating wasn’t the right long-term decision,” he said.
“The objective is to build a stronger business than the one that existed before the suspension. We fully intend to bring FoodCourt back,” he added in an emailed response.
The company acknowledged outstanding obligations to employees, vendors, riders and service providers, but declined to disclose the number of affected workers or the total amount owed. It said efforts were underway to resolve the liabilities as part of its restructuring process.
It was also reported that the startup’s financial difficulties worsened after expansion into additional locations increased operating costs, while its cloud kitchen model came under pressure from rising labour, logistics, food and marketing expenses.
Despite the shutdown, Mr Nneji said FoodCourt intends to relaunch after completing its restructuring, adding that the company believes demand for its products remains strong.
Founded in 2021 by Henry Nneji and Paul Adokiye Iruene, FoodCourt operates cloud kitchens under multiple virtual restaurant brands through its consumer app. According to TechCabal, the startup had previously disclosed raising $1.7 million, delivering more than one million meals and reaching $4.3 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2024.
