How does it work?

Let's explain this with an example. Suppose if yare ou enter with $500 at the “Fire” level. But before you sign up, you are encouraged to be ready with 2 potential initiates. Who will each bring in $500 of their own, and so on and so forth. Then after you entered them , you move to the “Air” level. The person who brought you in is supposedly one level above you. The ones you bring in are one level behind you, and so on. This also means that your recruiter, had to have brought in another person at your “fire” level. The following week after the air level, you move to “Earth” level. By the fourth, and last, iteration, you are at the “Water” level. That is when you receive your “gift,” or are “blessed,” with $4000.

By the 4th/Water level of your group (called a “flower”) 16 new initiates would have come in at the outer perimeter (fire level). Now, since you came in at the same time as one other — the one who brought you in had to bring in 2 — you would split the new entrants. They get $4000, you get $4000. All payments are encouraged to be done through CashApp, Zelle, Venmo, Paypal...etc and supposedly directly to the person that is supposed to receive the gift. The new entrants supposedly pay per instructions from the group leader (called “admin”). They then get added to a group chat on apps like Telegram, which have features to auto delete chats from devices after a set time.

It’s hard not to be sold on the altruistic and cultural backstory of the sou-sou, also known as “Susu,” “blessing loom” or “gifting circle.” Promoters pitch the sou-sou as a common practice among Caribbean and African immigrants as a way to help their businesses grow.