South Africans, especially young South Africans, are drowning in debt. According to the latest figures from the South African Reserve Bank, South Africans are spending more than 75% of their take-home income on debt.
Leana de Beer, CEO of WaFunda, a for-profit social impact enterprise focusing on financial literacy and access to education funding for youth and students, said: “Many South Africans are not making ends meet, the prevalence of illicit loans from illegal micro financiers, or abo mashonisa, is high. Local loan sharks are notorious for their exorbitant interest rates and brutally coercive extortion for repayments.”
Blackbullion South Africa is a new digital platform offering financial education for South African students. De Beer explained that it was adapted for the local market from an award-winning international platform used by some 700 000 students and trusted by more than 40 university and college partners across the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
An important part of Blackbullion South Africa’s content development and localisation process involves discussions and focus groups with students to ensure the content is accessible and relevant for a local audience.
“Blackbullion South Africa takes the form of multimedia content streams, convenient lessons, quizzes, videos and articles, all structured into modules across personalised learning pathways,” she explained.
The platform takes a holistic approach to financial well-being without promoting any specific bank, product or service, De Beer said. “Instead it encourages the shifts in behaviour that will drive our future leaders towards financial success.”
“Through working with the private sector bursary providers, our goal is to bring long-term benefits, arming bursary beneficiaries with the latest tools and best practices for money management. Our view is that while we believe access to education should be democratised, we should also enhance access to financial literacy programmes to enable overall improved quality of life for students and youth,” she said.
Financial literacy will allow young people to assess what is important to them and help them gain the courage and confidence to attain professional fulfilment.
Financial literacy is a crucial life skill with impacts on mental health, tertiary study experience and long-term quality of life. Financial freedom is a key component to a life of meaning and fulfilment.