Investing made practical, The Ninety One edge

The idea of investing and saving are not table conversations many of us grew up being a part of. In many respects we were taught at home to steward what we had. Not so much in consideration of reaping it in the future but to preserve our livelihood because we had no guarantee of more to come or someone coming to save us.

Living from hand to mouth is a reality of many households and I speak specifically for the Black and African communities I grew up in. However, in the same breath, it must be noted that our mothers, aunts and grandmothers began to establish a new culture we were introduced to, Stokvels. A communal way to put money aside so that when December comes there is abundant access for imicimbi (events or functions) and something to take care of us when Januworry comes.

In a very simple and unsophisticated way, we became literate about the value of saving and investing but that system relied on one another and often was threatened by human behaviour to steal, lie and deceive.

We'd hear stories of people stealing from stokvels or the disputes that arose because of early withdrawal by Stokvel members. These incidents discouraged the shared and communal building and often led to a rise of a new industry of scammers from our own communities.

The South African stokvel industry is reported to be worth an estimated R50 billion annually, injecting an essential liquidity into the national economy.

An estimated one in four South African adults, over 11 million people, participate in one or more of the country's more than 800 000 stokvels. The industry provides a critical financial buffer, supporting a national savings rate that hovers at just 16% of GDP, Altron Fintech, 2026.

While we may not have had access to the market place the matriarch's in our family did try building and many households became beneficiaries of these systems.

According to the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) 2025 General Household Survey, female-headed households now account for 42.6% of the total, rising to 47.6% in rural areas. This represents close to 6.1mn homes where women carry primary financial responsibility. Female labour force participation increased to 55.8% in 2024, up from 50.9% in 2014.

For the born free and millennial this may seem like a natural order but the fact of the world is that 70 years ago, before the 1956 women's protest, no one would have ever imagined this to be a reality.

A commendable new norm in 2026

Yet in the heightened era of inflation and global collapse of markets. Women are making strides as leaders of investing, financing and buying properties. They have become highly involved in the marketplace in shaping what will sustain us into the future. This is good news for society especially in the South African context where women are leading households single-handedly.

The 2025 Pathfinder International report states that women tend to reinvest up to 90% of their earnings back into their families and communities as compared to the 30 or 40 percent reinvested by men. Statistically, where women are empowered and involved, it usually does not end with them but becomes a direct benefit of the communities and society they come from.

Women's month celebration through the investment lens

Grant Thornton's 2025 Women in Business report indicated that female-owned businesses generated an estimated R175bn in revenue in 2024. Further data from Grant Thornton and the South African Supplier Diversity Council (SASDC) show women hold 35% of CEO and 52.7% of CFO positions locally, with 65% of female-owned businesses led by Black women, and 36.9% of top management roles at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) filled by women, Anchor Capital, 2026.

One can't take in this report without reflecting on how the political shift influenced by the 1956 women's protest, gave way to a formality of activity that empowered women. It was not just about the voices and free will of women but the official recognition of their participation in the marketplace. Where it did in fact always take place unofficially, In their homes and through strategic inputs into the day to day affairs of their husbands, brothers and sons.

The 1956 women's protest gave women the legal, ethical and moral nod to become key role players in the market place. Seventy years later and 35 years into the establishment of NinetyOne, the possibilities of partaking in the marketplace as women have become endless.

Recently I attended a Women and Investing seminar hosted by Ninety One, a global investment manager founded in South Africa in 1991 as Investec Asset Management. I usually shy away from engaging in women's month high tea activities. My attitude toward them has always been one of the gatherings being disingenuous, insincere and shallow. So, I accepted the invite with great hesitation and curiosity. I was sure I would be proven right and genuinely came into the session dreading the networking opportunity it promised to come with. I'm glad to say that this was a seminar worth attending and my concerns were proven untrue.

The keynote address was by the CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Valdene Reddy, a woman worthy of a seat at the table with a commitment to leave more women seated.

What caught my attention about her and the Ninety One ethos was how practical and accessible investing was made to seem. Discussing markets, our participation as women and the value we bring into the sector was not just in the inclusive language but carried and demonstrated through the culture of the organisers of the event and the keynote address who shared her lived human experience as CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

This was not just a woman who spoke the right language, assimilated into the boys club or invalidated her femininity and the strength and challenges that come with being a woman. In contrast, she acknowledges these very traits as being shaping and important in her leadership journey and sector contribution without downplaying the imminent push back she receives on the job.

Women fit for purpose

Miss Valdene Reddy reflected on her personal politics and vocational accolades that got her into the room, but what was most interesting and refreshing for me was her personal convictions for staying there.

She emphasized the value of being fit for purpose. Women are not asking for a seat at the table solely on account of their gender. They are backing it with expertise, track record and a vision that is inclusive of society broadly. Secondly, she touched on being at the table and bringing in her authenticity through her faith and the role she plays in her direct community of loved ones. Her kids have developed a natural language for investing and engaging in markets in their adolescence years, building an invaluable tool that will prepare them for the future.

I left the engagement feeling validated in my belief that there is no functional space in society that can fully operate to its full potential absent of the presence and meaningful engagement of women.

The growing role of women as wealth creators, investors and financial decision-makers brings several considerations that may be particularly relevant to women's financial planning. These include longer life expectancy, a greater likelihood of career interruptions related to caregiving, greater involvement in multi-generational financial support (including children, parents and extended family), and the need to navigate both domestic and offshore investment exposure in a relatively concentrated local market, Anchor Capital, 2026.

Organisations fit for purpose

As the founder of a social enterprise, that has spent the last eight years harnessing the power of young people to bring about transformative change in Africa, the Ninety One women and investing seminar inspired a need for us to share broadly with our clients the value of investing early, and to highlight how the the social and political are not sustainable outside of the intentional investment in the markets to sustain causes that will outlive our live time.

I left the seminar feeling valuable in my diversity and safe to feel imposter syndrome but not succumb to its falsehood. Safe to be corrected without reducing correction as being my sense of worth. Safe to speak back and correct the corridors of power when I feel unduly judged. The attitude I came with in the room was dismantled by the shared beliefs I found on the other side of the room shaped by the NinetyOne culture.

This for me sums up the Ninety One edge. Built on a 35 year old legacy of investing for the future now by building sustainable systems with society in its full diversity. In visiting their website you will find real time practical tools you can use to begin your investement journey shaped in a language that is relatable and accessible to all of us who may or may not have had the stokvel system growing up.