Jasper Cloete entrepeneur, business consultant and director of Generational Inheritance Group (aka GIG Institute) is passionate about mobilising people to develop generational wealth and to leave a legacy.
In an interview he told Gateway News the story of GIG, which today supports members on their generational-wealth-building journey with ongoing financial literacy training and unique, interest-free loans linked to their shareholding in the group’s community bank.
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The story began in 2005 when Cloete started to learn about the Kingdom of God in the marketplace after he was introduced to the International Christian Chamber of Commerce whose South African branch he currently leads.
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While conducting leadership training in Uganda in 2008 he wondered why some people overcome major challenges while others give up and become financially dependent when faced with small challenges.
Then, out of the blue he heard a voice in his head, saying: “mindset”. This key word prompted him to start researching the biblical account of God’s promises to Abraham and the story of the Israelites’ journey from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.
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“God is very clear about his intention to be a God of the generations,” said Cloete.
He said he also studied families which had achieved multigenerational wealth – in South Africa and beyond. He learned that the founding parents of these families had overcome big obstacles to lead their families out of poverty and to build systems and instil values that ensured that each successive generation built on the economic gains of their predecessors. He said that while it was fashionable to criticise such families they were the backbone of the economy of nations where they provided much employment.
GIG was launched in 2008 out of a quest to develop a “generic template” that could be followed by any person who wishes to become the founding parent of his family legacy.
While the movement is based 100% on biblical principles, Cloete said: “The only criterion for membership is: ‘Does this generational message resonate with you?’
“The demographic of our group, varies from any race and religion and from squatter camps to the northern suburbs [of Johannesburg].”
Describing their community bank as a bank for the people owned by the people, he said: God has blessed us with this programme that we started small with R40 000 amongst 12 people in 2011. And now it has grown to about 700 people nationally, with about R11 million in circulation.
He said a number of GIG members can testify to transforming journeys from “struggle to significance”. One such testimony on the group’s website reads: “I was a gardener for 18 years, got retrenched and was forced to become an entrepreneur. Through my involvement with GIG, I learned how to get rid of unproductive debt. I also used the loan free loan system to buy a bakkie and expand my garden service. GIG also teaches members to develop multiple income streams. I started building a guest house which will add a future income stream to my family,” — P Chinji.
For more information about GIG visit the websites www.gig.coop and www.gig-institute.com
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