2023 kicked off with great achievements and much to do

Ten years of making a difference

The Foundation celebrates its 10th birthday this year. We are super
excited about our proposed campaign “Celebrating 10 Years of Impact”, which we will launch with much pride and gratitude later this year.

The M&E reports on the Foundation’s programmes implemented during 2022 all confirm once again that effective financial education is a true empowerment tool, which brings hope to our programme participants and enables them to better navigate the socio-economic challenges impacting South Africa. This is what we plan to share and celebrate in our campaign, through the lens of the Foundation’s contribution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the SA National Development Plan.

We have been humbled by the continued commitment of our funders and strategic partners, the passion and dedication of our various programme implementation teams, the diligence and insights from our monitoring and evaluation teams, the support of our founder ASISA, the oversight and wisdom of our board of trustees, and of course, God’s grace towards us in blessing our initiatives with so much success.

Our programmes continue to flourish

Our strategic focus for the year ahead is to continue to grow our partnerships and collaborations to enable us to scale all our powerful programmes in the most cost-effective way, being cognisant of the challenges posed by load shedding and digital fatigue.

Our pilot programme, L+EARN #BIZ, co-funded by the ECIC,
has demonstrated powerful outcomes for young adults who are
micro-business owners and has already garnered much support for further implementation. The impact assessment conducted with students who participated in our L+EARN #Secure the Bag programme at tertiary institutions was hugely encouraging, and confirms the power
and potential for infinite impact by educating young adults at this stage
of their lives.

Our LinkedIn article provides more information on the success of the L+EARN #BIZ programme. Click here.

The FLAME Hermanus group at the end of Phase 1.
Selected participants are now busy with the second phase.

Our FLAME programme has been powerfully endorsed by our co-funders from the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism through a third cycle of SMME Booster funding for a FLAME cohort in Hermanus. This is co-funded with pooled funding from ASISA members.

Click here for an article that explains how FLAME participants developed more self-confidence during the Atlantis programme.

Watch the FLAME Atlantis participants share their testimonials and experience.

Our ground-breaking pilot, Build-Up for Agri Co-op members in rural Eastern Cape, has generated much interest, but has also highlighted acutely the real challenges to enabling financial capability in the context of low literacy, numeracy and market environments.

There is a strong demand and need for in-person workshops at
worksites across all provinces, and our very relevant flagship WageWise programme is well positioned to deliver these. However, it needs
more funding and partnerships to enable such workshops. In 2022,
WageWise  achieved its highest reach since launch, with 11 476
face-to-face workshop participants and 174 WhatsApp for Business (WAB) participants, totalling 11 650 participants over all provinces.
This was made possible through the significant co-funding received from the Sanlam Foundation, who will continue its partnership with the ASISA Foundation this year.

Click here for our article on how employers benefit from a financially literate workforce.

May God continue to bless our endeavours in FY24 with success.

Ruth Benjamin-Swales
CEO: ASISA Foundation

Contact us at info@asisafoundation.org.za should you wish to partner with us on this exciting journey.
Be sure to follow the ASISA Foundation on its various social media platforms.