I remember, many years ago. Every Saturday, I would be slipped a brown, unmarked envelope. “Go straight there, come straight back” would be the instructions from my handler as I set off on the weekly mission to deliver The Package. The contact would be expecting me at the rendezvous point…
I was 12, maybe 13 years old. The ‘handler’ was my mum and I was being told to deliver an envelope of cash to Mrs Dixon at her house a bus ride away. To be honest I would have always preferred to stay at home to watch cartoons on the telly.
The cash was my mother’s weekly contribution to the pardna group she was in. I can’t remember exactly how much it was. Way back then it was probably not much more than £20, especially for a weekly pardna…
Let me back up a bit.
Many of you may not be familiar with the name or concept of “pardna” or know it by another name, for example “susu”, “likelemba”, “committee” etc. In a nutshell it is an informal saving and lending scheme, conducted between a group of friends and family.
So anyway there I would be, getting the bus on a Saturday morning to deliver mum’s pardna to Mrs Dixon. Even then I would be thinking “There must be a better way to do this”. Of course my main motivating thought at that time would be to not miss out on my Saturday morning cartoon watching.
As I got older the thought of making pardna easier to manage always stuck with me. And now the technology in this practically cashless society has caught up with the thoughts and ideas I have had over the years.
With Pardna App now in the App Store and Google Play store my early thoughts are now reality.
Back then my mission was to deliver my mum’s pardna. Today our mission is to build upon the pardna system and democratise financial inclusion and advancement for all.
And to make sure nobody has to take a bus for their pardna money ever again!