As Money Smart Week South Africa (MSWSA) – an initiative to support financial literacy through a daily programme of educational activities – kicks off, our collective attention is once again drawn to our finances, as the country struggles to regain its financial footing in the wake of the economic toll claimed by COVID-19.
To empower South Africans to boost their knowledge around their finances, financial services provider Metropolitan – together with online literacy portal FunDza.mobi – have launched ‘That Majola Magic’; a follow-on from the first edition of the popular financial literacy course ‘Moving up with the Majolas’, which was first released in 2019.
The free, online course teaches important financial concepts through the engaging tale of the Majolas, a typical South African family, which grapples with common financial matters that many of us will face at some point in our lives.
The second edition picks up where the first left off: it has been a year and a half since the Majola family laid the tombstone on the grave of Grace Majola – beloved wife to Baba and mother to Themba, Samke and Busi Majola — and much has happened in that time. Baba has retired, Samke’s salon business has grown, Busi has finished her coding course and is busy with an internship, and Themba and Lerato are getting married.
“And of course, says Claire Klassen, Group CSI Consumer Financial Education Specialist at Momentum Metropolitan, “with all of these happenings comes new financial matters to be navigated and lessons to be learned.”
The course, which runs from 22 March – 30 May 2021, is intended for those 18 years and older, and covers a number of educational themes — from personal financial management to retirement, and even budgeting for a wedding — all packaged in a fun and easy-to-follow format. Each one of the course’s 10 chapters teaches a specific financial principle, followed by an information section where the lesson is expanded upon. Participants are later quizzed on their learnings through a series of surveys.
The online course is free and is accessible data free across all South African networks. Klassen explains that would-be learners simply need to register on the site to gain access to the course and those who successfully complete all of the modules by 30 May will receive a certificate of completion. “In addition, ten participants who score an average of 50% or more for the full course by this deadline will also be entered into a random draw, and will stand a chance to win one of 10 prizes, which includes R2000, a goodie bag of treats and a book prize from FunDza.”
Registration also provides users with free access to the rest of FunDza’s ‘library’ of books, short stories, essays, blogs, plays and poems – all aimed at getting South Africa’s youth reading and learning.
The initiative forms part of Metropolitan’s mandate to empower and uplift the communities in which it operates, by improving levels of financial literacy. “We invite the public to learn more about our financial education initiatives, by tuning into the Momentum Metropolitan Foundation panel discussion, ‘Financial Education as a basic human right’, on the MSWSA website from 12:15 – 13:15 on 25 March 2021”, says Klassen.
“Through sharing this next chapter of the Majola tale, we hope to partner with South Africans to help them take control of their finances because together we can.” concludes Klassen.
To register for the course, please visit https://live.fundza.mobi/competitions/thatmajolamagic/
