Youth are hungry for information and skills to manage their finances, and interventions are sorely needed. That was the finding of a recent pilot study done by SaveAct and partner Fiinafas, in collaboration with the Duzi-uMngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT). The pilot tested interventions for equipping 20 youth with financial skills and financial well-being, as well as their willingness to adopt practical steps towards saving and developing a livelihood pathway.
Youth unemployment in South Africa is at 45.5% for those aged 15-34*and many have very poor prospects of finding work, mainly due to a lack or mismatch of skills and a sluggish economy. The pilot, carried out over two months from April to June 2024, aimed to learn more about youth, test their appetite for engaging with their financial well-being, and adapt the methodologies to the participants. The pilot was also an opportunity to prepare for the scaling of similar programmes and is a preamble to a wider pilot that may happen with other implementing partners funded by the Social Employment Fund (SEF). This government initiative is designed to support youth employment opportunities.
Faye Brownell, general manager at DUCT, said they were involved in the pilot because “We have noticed over many years of working with hundreds of people that holistic wellness is essential for effective work with, and in, communities. SaveAct offers an approach that builds the confidence and awareness in the daily practices and decision-making of individuals, whilst also building a sense of community and belonging with a group.” She said DUCT is hoping the intervention will produce “teams that work better together, that have an internal motivation to act for their own, and their community’s well-being through good decision-making and a good work ethic.”
DUCT is an NGO focused on the environmental health of the uMngeni and uMsunduzi rivers in KZN. It hires 1 000 youth as “Enviro Champs” to clean rivers and manage the environment, and the 20 participants are among this cohort. SaveAct has expertise in training people to form a savings group, where they receive financial education and knowledge about how to save, manage money and other skills. Fiinafas is a social enterprise started by Chloe Jacquin, who has a background in financial education and financial wellbeing, i.e. how people relate to their money.
The pilot kicked off with a needs assessment and individual interviews with a sample of the participants. Key challenges ranged from job insecurity to peer and family pressures, and the need to contribute to household expenses. In several consecutive group and individual coaching sessions, the participants engaged in topics that included SaveAct’s savings methodology, financial planning and livelihood pathways.
They also had their personal financial well-being assessed using a diagnostic tool developed by Fiinafas. The results showed their measure in eight different key areas, identifying where focus was needed. More personalised engagement was then introduced via online and face-to-face coaching to help them reach their financial goals.
Ms Jacquin said the results of the pilot “exceed expectations. We wanted to assess whether Enviro Champs would be motivated and willing to engage in a bigger and longer intervention. Not only are they all thirsty for this, but some (four out of 20) had already started changing their financial behaviour when the pilot ended.” She said the pilot “definitely confirmed that there is a need for more hands-on, practical tools to support behaviour change and that a mix of digital and face-to-face interactions is key to make it work.”
Feedback from participants was very positive. They reported that they had learnt a lot, and most were ready to be involved in a further six-month intervention of learning and developing their livelihoods. Although there were some areas of concern, such as trust issues with joining a savings group where they did not know all the members, and hitches with the use of WhatsApp for sharing content, there was also much that was appreciated. As they went into more detail on these questions, and saw that these issues could be managed, the level of interest in pursuing this path grew in leaps and bounds.
Many participants said they were very interested in learning more about the savings group methodology. While 40% initially thought they would not be able to save; 94% still ended up saving over the one-month pilot. They said saving made them feel a sense of responsibility. A budgeting module tailor-made for youth was a big hit and a revelation for some participants, who shared that they had not known how to distinguish between needs and wants before the session, and it had enabled them to prioritise better.
“I will try to discipline myself when it comes to money,” said a participant in a reflection session at the end. “I will learn to commit and achieve my goals, by applying what I have learnt so far from SaveAct.”
SaveAct founder Anton Krone said he was “really encouraged by what we were able to achieve in such a short pilot. It was enough to give us optimism that a well-designed programme of this kind, blended into youth programmes, could go a long way to seeing these participants graduate with the tools and vision to better navigate this harsh world of ours.
“This experience adds credence to SaveAct’s assertion that linking environmental, social and economic interventions is essential if we are serious about achieving sustainable outcomes. We will be actively seeking to work with organisations who share this vision. Our ‘silos’ limit our potential to be effective.”
*The Economist, 4 May 2024