Browsing: Economic empowerment

Africa's financial literacy deficit

Financial knowledge remains paramount in an era in which increasingly complex financial products have become readily available to many. Governments in different countries have put more effort into expanding access to financial services. Consequently, the number of individuals with bank accounts and access to credit products is increasing.

Financial literacy remains crucial to personal and economic empowerment, enabling people to make sound financial choices and manage their finances effectively. Africa suffers from a significant shortage of financial literacy, which hinders its economic growth and development.

Whatever the reason, the outcome was that most notable BEE transactions went to Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Minerals and Ubuntu Botho Investments, Tokyo Sexwale’s Mvelaphanda Holdings and the current President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Shanduka Investments which is now part of the Pembani Group.

Legislated empowerment whose focus was primarily on ownership levels produced heavily skewed results towards benefitting political stalwarts and not the broader masses that were previously disadvantaged during apartheid.