A new South African app called Squirrel Away enables digital cash gifts to be sent directly into children’s savings accounts. It offers an alternative to once-off presents like toys or vouchers.
The platform supports both single and repeated contributions into ETFs and money market unit trusts. Features include personalised messages and the ability to pool gifts from multiple contacts. The app is positioned as a low-barrier entry point to long-term financial gifting.
Squirrel Away was launched by SA tech founder Sibongile Maputla in response to questioning the long-term value of conventional gifts after becoming a mother. Maputla had observed how families, particularly Black families, remained excluded from financial systems that promised growth but presented barriers.
“We’re not here to replace formal financial institutions; we want to make long-term investing feel as normal as buying a toy,” says Maputla. “We’re here to make it familiar.”
Entry costs, complexity and a lack of cultural relevance prevented many from accessing long-term investment tools. Maputla says the platform’s broader value lies in the conversations it prompts, particularly around financial literacy and long-term planning.
“I want children in South Africa to grow up knowing they have a stake in the future. That wealth is for everybody, and that compound interest is not an abstract or complex concept, but something that belongs to them.
“We don’t need billion-rand exits to feel like we’ve succeeded. If one child opens an investment statement at 18 and sees that their village believed in them, that’s the legacy.”
The use of direct fund transfers to support long-term savings for children is becoming more common in South Africa’s fintech sector. Squirrel Away facilitates this trend by offering a structured platform for family and friends to contribute to a child’s financial foundation.
By embedding investment into routine celebrations such as birthdays or school milestones, the app aims to remove the psychological barrier that often surrounds financial planning. Squirrel Away says the app fits into rituals that are already culturally familiar.
The design encourages group participation. Families can contribute together, and some users have begun co-ordinating baby shower gifts as collective investments. Conversations between relatives now extend to how to structure a child’s portfolio.
The company is fielding user questions that signal deeper engagement, such as: “How do I explain ETFs to my child?”, “Can I add this to my monthly debit orders?”, and “Can we set this up as a school-leaver gift?”