Financial services group Sanlam has launched an interactive app, the Sanlam Savings Jar, which uses gamification to engage kids in financial education.
The company says the Sanlam Savings Jar app is a first-of-its-kind, informational tool to help parents introduce their children to basic financial concepts.
Sanlam launched the app – which is available on iOS and Android – in commemoration of National Savings Month.
July is SA’s savings month and for the whole month, financial services sector entities will promote key aspects of saving, including raising awareness of the benefits of short-, medium- and long-term planning.
Mariska Oosthuizen, Sanlam head of brand, says: “We know that gamification is a powerful means to educate young people. The Sanlam Savings Jar breaks down basic financial concepts, like planning, goal-setting, needs versus wants, and appreciation of money and how to earn it. It’s critical to teach children these concepts early on, as habits are formed from as young as seven.
“We hope this app gets the whole family talking about money – a topic that’s often taboo. Our goal is for it to improve families’ financial confidence and success. This has been an underlying theme in all our previous Savings Month campaigns, from ‘Conspicuous Savers’ to the famed ‘One Rand Man’.
“We consistently use the currency of creativity to attempt to reach people in meaningful, innovative ways. It’s important to note the Sanlam Savings Jar teaches children savings habits through virtual ‘treasure’, rather than actually asking people to save in the current, difficult COVID-19 climate,” Oosthuizen says.
According to Sanlam, the app forms part of the financial services group’s “longstanding purpose” to target financial literacy to empower more people to live with confidence.
Oosthuizen says: “In 2021, we rebooted our business and brand to become a purpose-driven organisation focused on giving millions of Africans the chance to live with financial confidence.
“The Sanlam Savings Jar is one of several initiatives strongly driving this purpose. It builds on our long journey in the lives of South African children, led by a 21-year partnership with Takalani Sesame and our foundation’s work in schools and communities. To date, we’ve invested R209 million in Takalani Sesame alone.”
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