This article is part of an ongoing series of basic financial education brought to you by financial industry professionals curated by PocketFin – The Financial School of Real Life. CNBC Africa provides content from PocketFin as a service to its readers but does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by PocketFin.
Did you know that the word “Financial Education” is most searched for on Google in South Africa, then Ghana and then Nepal? (Google insights)
As the era of technology continues to evolve and advance, we have seen a worldwide uptake in access to information, many calling it an era of hyper information with more and more people around the world gaining access to the web via smartphone’s, tablets and computers.
We have even seen celebrities calling out for financial inclusion and education with the likes of media sensation Nandi Madida stating : “Financial education is true freedom and democracy for the every day person. It is important that people feel empowered by understanding their finances”
“There is no doubt that we are in urgent need of intervention to empower the youth of tomorrow” Says Pierre Van der Merwe, CEO of PocketFin,, The Financial School of Real Life, an education company with a vision for a worldwide financial literacy revolution ultimately driving it into the education syllabus.
“Whilst there are both pro’s and con’s to this information and tech era, it has been a massive aid in what we believe is a financial literacy revolution, possibly even an education revolution.” says Waseem Abrahams, Head of Strategy at PocketFin.
Why is a financial literacy revolution important?
If we zoom in to the South African landscape, only 51% of South African’s are deemed financially literate, and over 10 million South African’s are considered to be in bad debt. The number of people who are ‘not economically active’ is around 43% – so not far off half of adults. Drill into the details further and you will see that most young adults are not gainfully employed. Youth unemployment is ‘staggering’ at just over 74%.
The key basics in financial literacy and what we have seen offers most value to the general population are the following topics:
Wealth Creation : Investing , Retirement planning, Property purchasing etc
Banking and Debt : Different bank accounts and loan options, interest rates etc
Wealth Protection : Understanding insurance, understanding estate planning and budgeting.
It is important , no matter how astute you may be to set time aside to enhance your understanding on financial literacy, financial products and to consider this aspect of your life as important as your physical and emotional wellbeing.
By making use of the CNBC / PocketFin financial education hub it provides you the opportunity to do just that, become better with your money and ultimately pave a more successful financial future.
