South Africa’s Central Securities Depository (CSD), Strate, has invested over R100 000 as part of its corporate social investment to build financial literacy among disadvantaged learners and teachers in its community.
On 16 May 2014, Strate together with Full Value Financial Services launched a Financial Markets and Instruments course for eleven Grade 10 learners attending Vuleka Sekolo Sa Borokgo (VSSB), a school that caters for previously disadvantaged learners.
“The course content will be presented by SETA-accredited trainers over seven sessions made up of two hours per session, and it will empower learners and their teachers to make better financial decisions and understand the consequences of their actions. Both learners and teachers will attend the course, which will consequently enable them to empower the communities in which they live with what they have learnt,” says Tanya Knowles, Strate’s Head of Corporate Affairs.
VSSB Principal Dave Rossouw explains that the initiative is centred on educating the community how to be financially independent. “The community’s financial literacy is of utmost importance to us, as well as to Strate and Full Value Financial Services, as the sponsors and trainers of the programme respectively. That is why we are also empowering eleven teachers as well and educating them on topics such as basic financial skills, retirement, estate planning, insurance, financing budgets and saving methods. They can then use this knowledge themselves and pass it on to others.”
Full Value Financial Services’ course facilitators include people who were former traders. As the accredited
services providers, they will host the classes at VSSB from May until August 2014.
