Money matters can feel confusing, even a little scary, for a lot of South Africans. Between rising costs, school fees, and the pressure to “just figure it out,” financial literacy often gets pushed to the back burner. That’s exactly the gap Money Smart Week South Africa (MSWSA) 2026 set out to close, and Old Mutual made sure it showed up in a big way.
Running from 24 to 30 August 2026, Money Smart Week South Africa is a national financial literacy campaign led by the National Treasury, working alongside the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the National Consumer Financial Education Committee (NCFEC). The goal is simple: help everyday South Africans, from schoolkids to salary earners, make smarter, more confident decisions with their money.
Old Mutual took part through its Old Mutual On The Money initiative, rolling out financial education activities across three groups: communities, schools, and its own employees.
One of the standout parts of the campaign was in South African schools. Old Mutual’s school activations reached 3 383 learners nationwide, made up of 1 926 girls and 1 957 boys across provinces including Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape, the Free State, the Northern Cape, North West, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Schools that took part included Phagameng High School in Limpopo, Mkhondo Combined Boarding School in Mpumalanga, Nellmapius Primary and Unity Secondary in Gauteng, Motherwell High School and Jeffreys Bay Comprehensive High School in the Eastern Cape, Belgravia High School and Montevideo Primary in the Western Cape, and Gugulesizwe High School and Mcoseleli High School in KwaZulu-Natal, among others.
Because of the geographic make-up of the target quintile, all learners reached were black South African youth, and 27% of the schools covered were in rural areas 2% above the required benchmark for socio-economic development (SED) coverage. In plain terms: Old Mutual made a deliberate effort to reach learners in rural communities who don’t always get first access to financial education programmes.
Financial literacy for kids isn’t just about pocket money and piggy banks anymore. These days, it’s about building habits early, saving, budgeting, and understanding the basic “why” behind good money decisions, so that by the time learners enter adulthood, money management doesn’t feel like a foreign language.
Money Smart Week wasn’t just about the public. Old Mutual also turned the spotlight inward, hosting an employee webinar on the Psychology of Money with Dr Thami Watala. The session unpacked how our emotions, upbringing, and even trauma shape the way we handle money, a topic that clearly struck a chord.
The webinar drew 290 attendees, a number Old Mutual noted was lower than previous sessions, largely due to a change in how the session was communicated; calendars were no longer automatically blocked out for this type of event.
Still, the feedback told its own story. Employees flooded the session with praise, with several calling it one of the best webinars they’d ever attended. Comments ranged from requests for the playlist used during the session to reflections on how the content “resonated” personally with one attendee, Tumelo Mohale, asking a particularly thoughtful question about the line between being self-aware and becoming “hyper-independent” as a result of past experiences.
It’s a reminder that financial wellbeing isn’t only about numbers on a spreadsheet; it’s deeply tied to mindset, behaviour, and sometimes even healing.
Beyond schools and staff, Old Mutual also took Money Smart Week activities directly into communities, including rural areas that often have limited access to financial services and education.
In Ga Seabe, a rural area, Old Mutual hosted a community workshop attended by 30 local residents, giving them practical, face-to-face guidance on everyday money management.
South Africa continues to grapple with low levels of financial literacy, high household debt, and limited access to financial education in under-resourced communities. Initiatives like Money Smart Week South Africa and corporate partners like Old Mutual, who back it with real, on-the-ground activations, play a meaningful role in closing that gap, one classroom, workshop, and webinar at a time.
Through Old Mutual On The Money, the group says it remains committed to supporting South Africa’s journey toward becoming a more financially informed and financially resilient nation, proving that “doing great things every day” isn’t just a tagline, but something that plays out in real communities, real schools, and real conversations about money.
Old Mutual On The Money is part of Old Mutual’s broader commitment to financial literacy and inclusion in South Africa, delivered in support of Money Smart Week South Africa, a national campaign led by National Treasury in partnership with the FSCA and NCFEC.
