The Cinema level came alive at 
your moola”.
“Smartbucks- mind your moola” a programme designed to robustly combat the poor culture of saving, which is prevalent amongst South Africans. Through a movie, which is screened in 14 cinemas across the country, “smartbucks – mind your moola” programme attempts to educate learners about the importance of saving by portraying real life scenarios that relate directly to the subject. Using humour and drama as a spin off has proved successful as learners report on starting their own businesses within their communities in order to make practical sense of the financial literacy lesson.Sponsored by Stanlib, Liberty, Samsung, NYDA, Tsogo Sun, Putco, Bidvest Steiner, Gearhouse, Event Production Company and AV Systems, the programme has proved to be an essential lesson in money management for the youth of South Africa.It tackles some of the biggest challenges facing our youth: over indebtedness, lack of saving and wasteful spending. It does it through the issues faced by the movie’s four main characters; Faith, Katlego, Mam’ Gloria and T.T. Each of them are linked together by a game show – called ‘Mind your Moolah’.
STANLIB CEO, Seelan Gobalsamy, said, “We are passionate about motivating ordinary South Africans to save and invest, and giving them the tools to do so. Through Smartbucks we aim to empower our youth to take control of their futures to secure their financial well-being. We see financial literacy as our responsibility as a leading asset manager, and are committed to building this movement in South Africa.”
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Smartbucks 3 will roll out across Ster Kinekor cinemas countrywide on consecutive Sundays from 31 August 2014, reaching 15 000 of the most disadvantaged high school learners. The schools have been selected by the Department of Basic Education, who have collaborated on the project. Learners will enjoy the cinema experience for free, and will be given interactive booklets to reinforce the financial lessons in the film.
Sponsors speak about “smartbucks”:
LIBERTY LIFE
Lynn Husselmann, Divisional Director, Corporate Affairs at Liberty said, “For the last 40 years Liberty has been committed to supporting various education initiatives within South African communities. The Smartbucks initiative supports our belief that by increasing peoples understanding of basic financial education, we are empowering individuals with the knowledge to make better financial decisions.”
SAMSUNG
Michelle Potgieter, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Samsung Electronics SA: “We are delighted to be a part of this incredible project to financially prepare our youth for the future. Samsung believes in investing in educational programmes that will empower Learners to better themselves and the country at large, in the long term. Financial literacy is of the utmost importance and having the ability to understand the fundamentals of money management from a young age, is essential. We commend our partner Primestars, for spearheading this edutainment initiative.”
NYDA
“Financial literacy is crucial for all South Africans as it empowers one to understand how money works and how best to use it and importantly refers to the skills that allow an individual to make informed financial decisions. Educating youth on saving and financial literacy is what the Smartbucks initiative is all about and we are proud to be a partner of such an initiative. As the NYDA we see a need to facilitate a culture of saving amongst the youth of today and we are always proud to work in partnership with the private sector to ensure that we reach out to as many young South Africans as we possibly can with the assistance that they so desperately seek,” says NYDA Executive Chairperson Yershen Pillay
BIDVEST
“It is a fact that financial literacy among individuals results in more stable communities. Improved financial literacy, particularly early in life, results in much higher standards of living in the long term. Gaining financial literacy is a long-term process that, for many of us, requires the assistance of institutions outside of our homes. Our country is most certainly fortunate to have an intervention like “smartbucks 3”; and Bidvest Steiner is privileged to be a contributor to this wonderful project” says Alan Fainman, Chief Executive – Bidvest Rental and Products Division
PUTCO
“Putco fully endorses the smartbucks “mind you moolah” campaign. It is a creative, fun and educational way of engaging high school leaners in a subject that will have an impact on their future. Putco is supportive of social and economic development in South Africa and we proud to be associated with this initiative”. Tshepo Tsotsotso – spokesperson for Putco (Pty) Ltd.
TSOGO SUN
“With one of the three pillars of Tsogo Sun’s CSI programme being Education, we are delighted to partner with Primestars and the stakeholders and sponsors of this initiative to bring this innovative programme to life and with the ability to reach so many young learners. Collaboration is the key to the success of initiatives such as this and is an integral part of our education development strategy,” says Vusi Dlamini, Human Resources Director of Tsogo Sun.
THE EVENT PRODUCTION COMPANY
The launch has gathered learners, government officials, actors and sponsors to kick off the third year of this country-wide initiative, which has already reached over 30 000 learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Event Production Company acknowledges that this important cause is a priority to their organisation, which takes social upliftment and youth empowerment very seriously. The company has been involved in numerous charity events and contributed to a number of causes, making their involvement with smartbucks – mind your moolah a perfect fit. Youth education is a specific area in which The Event Production Company has invested a great deal of time and energy.
“We are extremely interested in developing young minds and giving children and young adults a platform to get exposure and work experience,” explains Tarryn Samons, Head of Events at The Event Production Company.
GEARHOUSE
Gearhouse Group is pleased to be able to contribute to the launch of “smartbucks –mind your moola” campaign. Financial literacy is the foundation on which business success is built and these teaching methods are a fun way of equipping learners with an all-round understanding of how to manage their future careers from a financial and business perspective. These are vital life skills with which to negotiate a successful path in the financially volatile world we live in and this is an initiative which deserves support from all sectors of our community.
AV SYSTEMS
AV Systems is a specialist audio visual technical support service provider to the Live Events Industry.
“We are delighted to be associated and involved with the “ Smartbucks 3 Initiative “ and we feel the significance of saving is an overriding issue in the future of the South African economy.” Alvaro Rodrigues, Managing Director of AV Systems.
