Sandton Fun Factory recently celebrated a major milestone after its early childhood financial literacy programme received international recognition through the Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) awards.

According to the speakers at the event, the programme, developed in partnership with Discovery Bank and academic researchers, was honoured for its innovative approach to teaching young children financial literacy concepts such as earning, saving, budgeting, donating, and banking.
Speaking during the award celebration event at Pappas Restaurant, Sandton Fun Factory CEO Mariana Naude reflected on how the initiative began from uncertainty and curiosity. “Until 2022, I did not know a word like financial literacy. I thought, how can you teach finances to a three-year-old child? But when I researched what other countries were doing, I realised South Africa also needed a programme designed specifically for our realities.”

Read more: Local financial literacy programme gains global recognition

Naude added that the international programmes could not simply be copied into South African classrooms because of the country’s social and educational inequalities. “We realised we had to create something local that would fit all levels of society.” She said the programme eventually evolved into a structured curriculum featuring 20 lessons spread over 40 weeks in a year, and researchers from Edutel later evaluated the concept and encouraged the team to strengthen it through storytelling and visual learning.

Naude elaborated that this led to the creation of 72 illustrated children’s stories centred around mascots Bully and Lily, characters designed to make financial concepts easier for children to understand. “What the research told us was that children understand abstract concepts better through imagination and storytelling.” She said the programme also expanded beyond children, with teacher training becoming a key focus after researchers found many educators themselves were unfamiliar with financial literacy concepts.

Also read: Sandton Fun Factory earns global recognition for early childhood financial literacy programme

Naude credited several partners and supporters for helping bring the project to life, including researchers, illustrators, accountants, schools, and Discovery Bank. “One person alone could never have built this. Everyone became part of the puzzle pieces that made the programme possible.”
She pointed out that the initiative had since reached hundreds of nursery schools across South Africa, with educational materials and toy kits distributed nationwide. Naude highlighted that the programme had now progressed to international competition stages after being selected through Unesco-linked processes for further recognition in Paris later this year. “If we never go further than this, we have already done what we needed to do. We laid a foundation for financial literacy in early childhood education in South Africa.”

Also speaking at the event, Discovery Bank representative Marian Clark praised Naude’s passion and dedication to the initiative. “You have such energy, enthusiasm, and passion for what you are doing. This is a legacy that you are building for future generations.”

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