BY PHUMELELE GAMEDZE
MBABANE – A simple habit of putting money aside could soon earn one Eswatini school a major boost in digital learning, as Youth Eswatini (Yès) Digital SACCO rolls out its second National Savings Day school competition.
The initiative, which targets Form 3 to Form 5 learners, will see the winning school walk away with a digital hub equipped with desktop computers, tables and chairs.
But beyond the computers, organisers say the competition carries a bigger lesson: teaching young people that saving even small amounts of money can become the foundation for future opportunities.
Speaking on Eswatini TV’s Tax Talk, YES Digital SACCO Chief Executive Officer and Officer in Charge of Administration Silindile Queen Mkhonto said the programme was designed to encourage learners to develop a saving culture while also helping schools improve their technological infrastructure.
“We opened this competition to boost infrastructure for schools and improve technological infrastructure. We encourage the youth to start saving as young as they are,” Mkhonto said.
Unlike an individual savings contest, learners will participate in teams, with schools encouraged to put together groups of seven or more pupils.
Mkhonto said YES Digital SACCO wants learners to understand early in life that saving is not only about keeping money in an account, but can become a tool for building their own future.
With employment opportunities remaining limited for many young people, she said savings could eventually provide young Emaswati with the financial foundation to start businesses, pursue projects and create income for themselves.
She added that YES Digital SACCO could also assist young people with business guidance and training as their ideas begin to take shape.
The competition is also being expanded beyond the country’s major urban centres.
Mkhonto said last year’s edition was successful, but participation was largely concentrated among schools situated along the Manzini-Mbabane corridor.
This year, the organisation wants to cast the net wider and give schools in rural communities an equal opportunity to participate.
“We are now visiting all schools to talk about the competition. Even those in rural areas can call us and we will be glad to come and explain about it,” she said.
The outreach is particularly significant for schools struggling with access to computers and other digital learning resources.
For the winning school, the digital hub could provide pupils with improved access to technology at a time when computer literacy is becoming increasingly important in education and the workplace.
Schools will not, however, have to finish first to walk away empty-handed.
Mkhonto said participating schools would also receive gifts as part of the programme.
Last year’s winning school received an HP i7 laptop, while other prizes included books and stationery.
The school competition forms part of YES Digital SACCO’s wider efforts to improve financial inclusion among young people.
The SACCO describes itself as Eswatini’s first youth-focused, digital-first savings and credit cooperative, aimed at helping young people, workers and families save towards specific goals, build share capital and access credit.
Its savings products cover different needs, including emergencies, education, business projects and long-term financial goals.
The broader youth savings programme in Eswatini has also received support from organisations including the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV), Stiftung GESTE and Union Investment, with financial education and early saving forming part of the initiative.
For Mkhonto, however, the real success of the competition will not be measured only by the computers handed over to the winning school.
She said the longer-term goal was to produce a generation of young Emaswati who understand money, appreciate the value of saving and enter adulthood with financial habits that can help them pursue business and other income-generating opportunities.
Parents will be required to sign consent documents allowing learners to participate.
Schools interested in joining the competition, including those in rural areas and outside the country’s major centres, have been encouraged to contact YES Digital SACCO for further information.
(Courtesy Pic)
