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ASISA Foundation shares successes, highlights and programme updates not to be missed.   Dear friends of the ASISA FoundationAs we head into the final quarter of 2022, I am excited to share with you some of the great successes the ASISA Foundation’s teams have achieved over the past few months. I am proud to announce that our Independent Competent Person’s Review (ICPR) reports confirm that the Foundation continued to operate “beyond compliance” as a broad‑based ownership scheme (B-BOS). Its financial education programmes qualify as 100% consumer financial education (CFE) programmes and 100% socio-economic development (SED) programmes, as required by the Financial Sector Code.  These outcomes, together with the confirmed relevance and efficacy of our financial education programmes – which are focused on supporting national priorities and contributing to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals – have enabled us to achieve scale and reach, and have led to:       
OUR PROGRAMMES ARE EXPANDING  L+EARN #BIZ Equipping young  BUILD UP  FLAME PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTSAll our programmes have performed well over the past quarter and we have much to be proud of. Here are a few achievements of each programme worth mentioning: Financial Literacy and Micro-Enterprise 28 participants of FLAME in Atlantis, Cape Town, recently celebrated the successful completion of Phase 2, which included business development workshops and one-on-one business coaching. The participants have now entered the final phase comprising ongoing coaching and mentorship, and focusing on business sustainability, access to markets, business growth and financial discipline. FLAME Atlantis participant  The community of Hermanus and the Overstrand district in the Western Cape showed an overwhelming interest in the FLAME programme during recent advocacy sessions and Phase 1 commenced in October this year.  L+EARN programme for young adults A pilot programme aimed at young, black entrepreneurs already owning a small business – L+EARN #BIZ – was launched earlier in the year and will conclude in December. Interest in the programme and the commitment of the current participants exceeded all expectations, emphasising the high demand among young entrepreneurs for financial knowledge and skills. This programme comprises elements of the Foundation’s FLAME programme for micro-enterprise development and the L+EARN programme aimed at young adults, and was tailored to meet the needs of this specific audience. For the testimonies of two participants and the impact 
Nawaal Sasman, a BA student at TSIBA, shares her moving testimony This video explains what the    BUILD UP for members of cooperatives  The hub procures maize from 22 independent farming cooperatives that own small pieces of land, and markets and sells it to local supermarkets. The development of the agri-sector is a national priority and the ASISA Foundation’s focus on enhancing financial literacy of agri-cooperative members supports this, as well as the resultant contribution it would be making to the food security Sustainable Development Goals. The programme for the Buffalo City Primary Housing Cooperative closed off in September with a financial wellness day in East London, following workshops on Saturdays over several months. The members expressed huge appreciation for the programme and demonstrated their commitment by travelling long distances to attend the workshops, even in the midst of storms and floods. The wellness day included informative presentations by representatives of the Credit Bureau Association, the National Credit Regulator, the Credit Ombud and the Financial Planning Institute, and gave members the opportunity to personally consult with them. It fostered stronger relationships between the leadership of the Housing Co-operatives Association and representatives of the Department of Human Settlements, who were also in attendance.  WageWise programme for workers  It was business as usual, with the team focusing on training workers around the country, reaching participants in eight provinces. The team is very excited to have broken ground in the Northern Cape, which has been achieved by working with the Department of Public Works through the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU). The 2022 target of 7 500 programme participants for the blended approach – which has a three-hour workshop as the primary channel – has been exceeded, with 7 645 participants reached by end-September. This programme is funded by the Sanlam Foundation.  Retirement Fund Trustee Education Additional funding support has enabled RFTE to meet the increasing demand for in-person and online workshops, reaching 1 345 participants by end-September, primarily through the ASISA Academy. The most popular workshops proved to be Death Benefits, Annual Financial Statement Analysis, Investment Policy Statements and Responsible Investing. Toni Billing, a participant who attended several  The theme of the latest Atleha-edu publication – a digital trustee education publication the Foundation produces in partnership with Six Capitals and Alternative Prosperity – is “From Wall Street to Main Street: alternative assets and your investments”. It focuses on the implications of the amendments to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act regarding investment options for retirement funds. Ruth Benjamin-Swales All programmes are made possible by voluntary grant contributions from    |
