Ajo: Savings Circles

Why I made it

Ajo (or esusu, depending on who raised you) is one of the most trusted money habits in Nigeria: a group of people chip in every week and one person takes the pot each round. Most apps that try to digitise it end up feeling like a bank. I wanted Ajo to feel like the circle itself, where you can always see who's paid, whose turn it is, and what it costs.

How I got there

1. 1

   The idea in one picture

   The welcome screen is eight members around a pot and one sentence: save together, get paid in turns. If you've ever been in an ajo, you get it in a second. If you haven't, you get it in two.

2. 2

   Answer the real question first

   The home screen leads with what people actually check: when do I get paid? Your next payout sits right under the wallet, before anything else.

3. 3

   Nothing hidden

   The circle screen shows this round's pot, who has paid, and the full payout order with your turn highlighted. The service fee shows up before you pay, not after, and the PIN pad is on the same screen as the summary.

4. 4

   Numbers that add up

   8 members × ₦50,000 = ₦400,000. ₦184,250 minus ₦50,050 leaves ₦134,200. Every amount, date and reference agrees from screen to screen, because in a money app one wrong number makes everything feel fake.

5. 5

   Teal, not another purple

   Most Nigerian fintechs already own purple or neon green. Deep teal feels calm and trustworthy, marigold marks the money moments, and brick red only ever means an error, so it always means something.

6. 6

   A mark that is the product

   A ring of eight dots with one in marigold: the circle, and whose turn it is. The same idea shows up as the circle icon in lists and the rings behind the wallet card.