Gym & Fitness
Monthly gym access, city by city
Employer-funded gym passes across our partner network — no annual contracts, no joining fees.
A gym membership in Lagos or Johannesburg costs the equivalent of a week's grocery bill. Most employees want it. Few maintain it. When your company covers it — with a pass that renews automatically each month and requires no long-term commitment — utilisation is dramatically higher than a cash allowance ever achieves.
120+
Partner gyms
12
Cities covered
Zero
Joining fees
8
Avg. visits/month per user
The benefit explained
What is it, exactly?
A pre-paid monthly gym pass that your employer funds. Employees pick their gym from our partner network, claim their pass in the app, and walk in. No personal memberships, no joining fees, no long-term contracts.
Step by step
How it works
From setup to employees spending — here's the full flow.
Employer loads a monthly gym credit to each employee's BenefitsCard.
Employee opens the app and selects their preferred gym from the partner network.
A QR code pass is generated instantly and sent to their app and email.
Employee shows the QR at reception. Valid for the full calendar month.
Unused months don't roll over — new pass generated each cycle.
Full coverage
What's included
The difference
Before RibiBenefits vs. after
- Gym reimbursement requires receipts and claims
- Reimbursements delayed 4–6 weeks
- Employees never sure if their gym qualifies
- No visibility on gym benefit utilisation
- Most employees don't bother claiming
- QR pass issued instantly in app — no receipts
- Valid from day one of each month
- Clear partner network — no ambiguity
- Real-time utilisation data for HR
- 71%+ activation rate in first 60 days
For your organisation
Why HR teams choose it
No gym management
You don't manage gym contracts or memberships. We activate partner gyms per city and issue passes automatically.
High perceived value
Gym memberships are expensive in African cities. Funding one for employees is a high-value, highly visible benefit.
Supports wellness strategy
Physical activity is linked to productivity and reduced sick days. A funded gym pass makes it accessible for everyone.
Targeting
Who is this benefit for?
This benefit works across many employee profiles. Here's where it has the most impact.
High-performance and tech teams
Physical wellness is strongly correlated with cognitive performance. Tech companies in particular use gym benefits to signal investment in the whole person.
Competitive talent markets
In Lagos, Nairobi, and Johannesburg, gym access is a differentiating benefit in job offers at the manager level and above.
Companies building wellness programmes
A gym pass is the natural starting point for a physical wellness strategy — visible, tangible, and used frequently.
Employees aged 25–45
This cohort is most likely to actively use gym access and to value it in a benefits package.
The question Finance always asks
Why not just pay a gym cash allowance?
Cash allowances for gym get spent on everything but the gym. Employees intend to sign up, but monthly gym memberships require upfront commitment — most don't follow through. A pre-issued pass removes the friction completely: it's already active, already paid, already in the app. That's why utilisation of a funded gym pass runs 3x higher than equivalent cash.
The perception gap
Equivalent cash added to salary
55% perceived value vs cost
Named benefit credit
87% perceived value vs cost
Based on RibiBenefits employee surveys across African markets, 2024.
Employee perspective
What employees get
Benefits only work if employees actually use them. Here's why they do.
Switch gyms monthly
Travelling to another city this month? Pick a gym there. No commitment required.
No joining fees
Your employer's pass covers full access. No personal sign-up costs.
Classes included
Most partner gyms include group fitness classes in the pass — HIIT, yoga, pilates and more.
“We launched the gym benefit expecting moderate uptake. Within 60 days, 71% of employees had activated their pass. People talk about it in the office. It became a social thing — teams started going together. I didn't expect that.”
Where it works
Available markets
Tax & compliance note
Employer-funded fitness benefits are generally treated as non-taxable welfare benefits in most African jurisdictions when structured correctly. Our team will confirm the treatment for your specific markets at onboarding.
Common questions
Questions
Build your package
Pair it with
Most companies combine 3–5 benefit categories. Here's what works well alongside gym & fitness.
Ready when you are
Add Gym & Fitness to your package
Book a demo and we'll show you exactly how it works for your team and markets. Most companies go live within two weeks.
- No procurement process — one contract
- Go live in 2 weeks or less
- Dedicated onboarding support included
- Cancel any time, no lock-in