Search

Widespread socio-economic challenges such as high levels of poverty and unemployment continue to plague South Africa. Owing to the nature of social work service delivery, social workers often serve the most vulnerable populations. However, it seems that social workers remain metaphorically in the trenches in the war on poverty, meaning that tangible evidence on the progress of poverty alleviation due to the direct involvement of social workers is meagre in social development. This article argues for the integration of a financial social work practice perspective into South African social work service delivery as a potential means of facilitating more efficient social development. The article is conceptual in nature and draws on the principles of theoretical adaptation. It posits social developmental theory as the dominant theoretical paradigm, and financial social work as the practice perspective. Analysis will highlight the current gaps in social developmental practice, and the appropriateness of financial social work to address it. The discussion aims to activate scholarly discourse on financial social work in South Africa and beyond, and to firmly position this practice perspective within sustainable social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses a subset of eight youth employability programmes (YEPs) operating across South Africa using a panel survey of participants. It assesses the features of these YEPs and their links to subsequent employment while controlling for individual characteristics. Each YEP delivered technical and soft skills training, alongside other programme features offered in different combinations. Additionally, a financial capability intervention comprising financial literacy and access to a savings product was randomised to half of the training sites. Job matching, soft skills training, and financial capability are all strongly associated with better employment odds. The strength of these associations depends on how different training components are combined, and on graduates' education level and area of residence. The findings have implications for the design of active labour market policies in developing countries with large youth unemployment and fast-changing labour markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the effects of the customer-to-customer co-creation experiences of savings/credit groups in the African context and how savings/credit groups influence financial capability and enhance financial well-being. Design/methodology/approach: Using purposive sampling, a study of a total of 18 focus groups was conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. Nine urban-based savings/credit groups were drawn from across South Africa and additional nine, rural-based savings/credit groups were studied in the Monduli district of Tanzania. Findings: Findings demonstrate that the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which promotes customer-to-customer interaction, is the cornerstone of the customer-to-customer co-creation experience. Ubuntu philosophical principles were found to influence the dialogue, access, risk and transparency model of co-creation and customer-dominant logic. The results show further that customer-to-customer co-creation experience positively influences the cognitive, financial, personal and social experiences of members. Specifically, it was found that cognitive and financial experiences positively influence financial satisfaction, financial self-esteem, financial self-efficacy and financial capability, all of which enhance financial well-being. In addition, personal and social experiences positively influence equality, self-confidence, entrepreneurial skills and motivation that in turn enhance social well-being. Research limitations/implications: This study has implications for many different stakeholders concerned with the financial inclusion of low-income consumers, particularly in the southern part of Africa. Originality/value: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to explore the effects of customer-to-customer co-creation experiences in traditional financial services settings in order to understand how these indigenous financial services influence the financial capability and financial well-being of co-creation members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]