Aluwani Tshifhango | From stokvels to smartphones, protect the future our grandparents built

Heritage Month is often associated with clothing, music, food and ceremonies. These are important expressions of who we are, but our heritage is also found in the practical systems our communities created to protect one another. Across South Africa's indigenous communities and cultural groups, collective saving has long been a form of resilience: small, regular contributions made powerful when people stood together.

Stokvels, grocery clubs and burial societies are not merely informal arrangements. They are community-built financial institutions, shaped by necessity, trust and accountability. They have helped families prepare for the festive season, put a child through university, respond to illness and meet the costs of a funeral without leaving one household to carry the burden alone. In many cases, these clubs have also been places where our grannies share advice, comfort and companionship.

The year 1994 is an important part of this story. With democracy, South Africa's old-age grant system was extended and equalised, giving eligible older people more equitable access to social assistance. Yet the grant was never the whole answer. Our grandparents continued to pool what they could, contributing to social clubs and burial societies that turned limited resources into dignity and support. Their lesson was simple: nobody should face life's biggest moments alone.

Funeral support is especially significant because a funeral is not only a financial event. It is a farewell, a cultural duty and an expression of belonging. In many communities, traditional leaders, elders and local organisations help to hold families together when grief is at its deepest. Any insurance industry that wants to serve South Africa meaningfully must understand this social architecture rather than treat it as an obstacle to formal financial services.

That is where innovation matters. Insurers and funeral providers must build on what our grandparents started, not replace it. Digital tools can make joining, paying premiums, receiving policy documents and tracking claims faster and more transparent. Mobile platforms, USSD and WhatsApp support can reach customers where smartphones, data or bank branches are limited. But technology cannot substitute for trust. Rural communities still need accessible service points, trained local advisers and responsive claims support in familiar languages.

Traditional leaders can be important partners in this work. Through community meetings, local radio, churches, schools and other trusted spaces, insurers can explain what funeral cover does, and what it does not do. Education must cover premiums, benefits, waiting periods, exclusions, dependants, beneficiaries, policy lapses and the claims process. Customers should be able to understand what they are paying for, compare products, avoid unnecessary duplication and claim with confidence.

Young South Africans, in particular, should not see funeral insurance as a product only for older people. It is a practical expression of responsibility to parents, partners, children and the wider family network. We can enjoy a good lifestyle while preparing for the worst; in fact, financial maturity requires both. You cannot build a successful life and leave your family unprepared for its most difficult day.

This Heritage Month, the call to action is clear. Insurers must keep our heritage alive by combining the solidarity of the social club with the reach of responsible digital innovation. That means designing relevant, affordable products; investing in rural infrastructure; working with traditional leaders and community organisations; and making financial education continuous, local and easy to understand. At MR21 Funerals and Insurance, we believe protection should be rooted in dignity and designed around real family needs.

For young people, start small, ask questions and choose cover you can sustain. For families, review existing policies and make sure beneficiaries know what is in place. The best tribute to the women who built these networks is not simply to remember their example, but to modernise it. Let us move from stokvels to smartphones without losing the trust, care and collective responsibility that made them work.

*Aluwani Tshifhango, Managing Director, MR21 Funerals and Insurance.