Savings app helps one to save up small amounts

ADDaBIT partners with Sanlam Investments to get South Africans to save

IMAGINE shopping for Christmas without having to spend your hard-earned salary. Amusing, isn’t it? As South African banks encourage people to save from home, Sanlam Investments and social savings start-up ADDaBIT have joined forces to make things easier for South Africans though their saving platform.

The idea first came up with ADDaBIT chief executive Michael Griffin through an online, social and savings platform.

Two years later Sanlam expressed interest in partnering with Griffin’s ADDaBIT venture .

Griffin said saving allowed people freedom to make better choices in life.

“I believe that ultimately saving money means freedom. It takes away the anxiety of not having enough money when you desperately need it”, he said.

Griffin believes that the initiative offers what banks fail to do when it comes to helping South Africans save.

“We keep our platform as simple as possible to use so that anyone who hears about us can start saving for themselves or for someone they love and care about,” Griffin said.

Affordability

He said that the main aim of the initiative was to see children and adults being involved and being able to afford their needs in the short term. “We are so proud to bring an industry first to the South African population that really can benefit from saving R1 at a time and get great interest on each rand to encourage you to keep going,” Griffin said.

Carl Roothman, the chief executive of retail at Sanlam Investments, said there was a savings crisis in South Africa and part of the problem was the misconception that people needed a lot of money to invest.

Roothman said the app made it possible to save any amount, from as little as R1, to help people achieve their own goals and contribute to the dreams of others.

“We have collaborated with South African’s first proper simple, social savings platform that does not have a minimum monthly contribution commitment, so that we can truly show our commitment to uplifting our fellow South Africans being affected by our national saving crises. All of this is possible by using one’s everyday banking facilities,” he said.