Contestants in South Africa’s first ever financial education family game show cited debt as their biggest fear, followed by job loss and income uncertainty, student loans, rising food prices, the inability to save for a child’s education and single parenting expenses. The Sanlam Moola-Money Family Game Show, which premiers on eTV on 3 April at 18h00, aims to financially educate and empower South Africans, using entertainment and fun to build knowledge and reduce fear.
Unfortunately, the backdrop against which the Sanlam Moola-Money Family Game Show airs highlights the dire need to elevate financial and money knowledge in our country. Trading Economics reports South Africa’s household debt in relation to gross income reached 72.8% by December 2020 and the pandemic prompted 2 million jobs to be lost last year.
Sydney Mbhele, Chief Executive: Brand at Sanlam, says Moola-Money will be a breath of fresh air in the financial education space. “We know many South Africans are struggling right now. We hope that through the medium of entertainment, we can improve financial literacy levels, which will catalyse greater confidence to address these fears head-on and set up a solid financial foundation. Breaking down complex topics – in a fun, engaging and accessible way – and using a combination of high-profile experts and ‘people like me’ will help to make money management relatable and appealing to a wide audience.”
On each episode, two families will compete to answer financial-related questions. The fact that the featured families are ‘ordinary’ South Africans, makes them extremely relatable.
Many contestants had touching reasons for being on the show, from a family of four boys looking to give back to their single mom and newly-weds hoping to finance a home (and honeymoon), to five siblings wanting to pay tribute to their healthcare-worker parents.
With R50 000 up for grabs per episode, plus a grand finale prize of R500 000, there’s much incentive for competing families to bring their A Game. But it’s not just the cash that’s appealing – entrants are also eager to learn, “We would love to be on the show so that our money habits change for the better. We would also like to view money in a different light and the show will help us do that.”
This was a common theme, with many families stating their desire to up their financial literacy in order to have the confidence to pursue their goals and grow their wealth. For example, another entrant wrote, “My sister and I have the same goal of investing in order to start saving so our money adds up to real wealth in the future.”
Mbhele says this is the crux of why the show was created, “We conceptualised Sanlam Moola-Money with the goal of equipping South Africans with the confidence to go after their dreams. Our mission is to catalyse crucial conversations around money management and to empower people to see that, irrespective of whether you have a lot or a little, it’s about taking control and making your ‘moola’ work harder for you.
“As well as the show, the Sanlam Moola-Money site will relay educational content, plus weekly quizzes to test participants’ financial knowledge, with an array of prizes up for grabs. We’re hoping that these fun formats will familiarise people with key financial concepts they can apply in their short-, medium- and long-term money management.”
Episodes will be aired weekly on eTV. They’ll also be available via the Sanlam Moola-Money site.
