SASI strategist, Gerald Mwandiambira, has announced a new initiative aimed at promoting a savings culture. "We are excited to announce that we will host the inaugural SASI Savings Convention in Soweto during the annual National Savings Month in July. This will be an annual family day of savings literacy at Maponya Mall in Soweto, providing consumers with a platform from where they can receive first-hand guidance on active participation in the savings and investments arena."
According to Mwandiambira, the SASI Savings Convention is intended to be an annual one-stop platform for productive interaction between the demand and supply side of the financial sector - consumers, practitioners, regulators and policy makers. Follow-up initiatives will include campaigns in communities and universities which will run until September 2015.
"Saving is an integral part of financial literacy and we are concentrating on raising awareness on key concepts of money management; educating people on incentives such as the such as the new tax free savings accounts introduced in March 2015, and helping them to access resources to manage debt.
"With our partners, we intend to go to the community as responsible South African corporate citizens, to demonstrate our commitment to economic sustainability and financial well-being of the South African consumer," says Mwandiambira.
In addition to the SASI Savings Convention in July, SASI will be endorsing financial literacy interventions by various organisations. Such an endorsement is necessary in order to highlight to the public, the number of programmes available to them and how to access them.
"SASI stands at a defining moment in its history as it considers the next 15 years of dedicated service to South Africa. The household savings agenda is a key national priority. SASI foresees that, together with the right partners, it can play a significant role over the next decade in taking this agenda further," says Mwandiambira.
