2017 Global Inclusion Awards Report 3 May 2017 | Meistersaal, Berlin, Germany
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Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI) is a non-profit organization that coordinates the world’s largest movement dedicated to enhancing entrepreneurial capabilities, social and financial inclusion and to promoting Economic Citizenship Education of children and youth. Leveraging expertise and innovation from within its global network, the Child and Youth Finance Movement has spread to over 140 countries and has reached more than 16 million children. The G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) is an inclusive platform for G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries and relevant stakeholders to carry forward work on financial inclusion. Under German Presidency, the GPFI has a focus on the financial inclusion of vulnerable groups, including youth, and promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship. In the context of the German G20 Presidency, BMZ chairs the GPFI and has been a long-standing supporter of financial inclusion through its international and bilateral cooperation activities. Unless otherwise specifically stated, images remain the property of GIZ / Thomas Ecke.
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2017 GLOBAL INCLUSION AWARDS REPORT
2017 GLOBAL INCLUSION AWARDS REPORT 3 May 2017 | Meistersaal, Berlin, Germany
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Dear all, It was our pleasure to welcome inspiring finalists and guests from 60 countries to the 6th Annual Global Inclusion Awards 2017 – which was held on 3 May 2017 at the historic Meistersaal in Berlin, Germany. The event was organized jointly by Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as the German G20 Presidency. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the speakers, panelists and participants who took part in the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) Forum during 2-3 May 2017 at the InterContinental in Berlin, Germany. Some of the Forum sessions focused on key issues such as strengthening digital and financial literacy, supporting SMEs and young entrepreneurs and fostering regional initiatives on financial inclusion. Under German Presidency, the GPFI has a focus on the financial inclusion of vulnerable groups, including youth, and promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship. In the context of the German G20 Presidency, BMZ chairs the GPFI and has been a long-standing supporter of financial inclusion through its international and bilateral cooperation activities. Our collaboration with CYFI presented the opportunity to award amazing progress in the field of youth economic empowerment, and we will continue support the Child and Youth Finance Movement worldwide. Yours sincerely, Natascha Beinker German G20 Presidency GPFI Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
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Dear all, The Global Inclusion Awards recognize and honor those that achieve greatness and demonstrate innovation in financial, social and livelihoods education, financial inclusion and entrepreneurial support for children and youth at the national, regional and international level. We at CYFI are overjoyed to have the opportunity to interact and learn from leading practitioners, policymakers, innovators and visionaries that are working around the world to advance economic citizenship for children and youth. The organizations and individuals that you find described in this report represent some of the most committed and inspiring industry leaders from around the world. Their achievements serve as a powerful testimony to the incredible potential of collaboration and innovation in the field of financial inclusion, education and sustainable livelihoods for young people. Every Award finalist in this report deserves to be honored for their valuable contributions to building the Child and Youth Finance Movement worldwide. Response to this year’s call for nominations was outstanding and hundreds applications were received – we thank everyone who applied! With so many inspiring applications the members of the Global Inclusion Awards Jury had a difficult decision in choosing winners for 6 Award categories from the impressive list of 63 finalists. From groups of active youth to financial institutions, government ministries to civil society organizations, CYFI was delighted to welcome representatives from all over the world to celebrate global efforts to economically empower young people. We would like to congratulate all the finalists and winners of the Global Inclusion Awards 2017, and wish them continued success. A special “Thank You” to the German G20 Presidency/German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for their support of the work of CYFI and for making this event possible; and to all our partners across the Child and Youth Finance network for their efforts in empowering children and youth worldwide. Kind regards, The Team of Child & Youth Finance International
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CONTENTS GPFI FORUM...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................10 ABOUT GLOBAL INCLUSION AWARDS 2017................................................................................................................................................................12 6 AWARD CATEGORIES...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................13 ABOUT APPLICATIONS...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................15 GLOBAL INCLUSION AWARDS 2017 JURY MEMBERS................................................................................................................................16 ABOUT MEISTERSAAL.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................17 FINALISTS & WINNERS.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................18 AWARD FINALISTS - PROFILES.......................................................................................................................................................................................................23 ❶ CYFI COUNTRY AWARD.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................24 Africa • Burkina Faso, Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development......................................................................................................................................26 • Rwanda, National Bank of Rwanda............................................................................................................................................................................................................27 • Zambia, Bank of Zambia....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Americas & The Caribbean • Chile, Central Bank of Chile, Superintendence of Banks and Financial Institutions......................................................................................29 • El Salvador, Central Bank of El Salvador................................................................................................................................................................................................30 • Peru, Superintendence of Banks, Insurances and Private Administrations of Pensions.........................................................................31 Asia & The Pacific • India, Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, National Centre for Financial Education.................................................................32 • Indonesia, Indonesia Financial Services Authority......................................................................................................................................................................33 • Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan..................................................................................................................................................................................................................34 Europe & Central Asia • Azerbaijan, Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Economic Education Service of the Center for Research and Development 35 • Georgia, National Bank of Georgia.............................................................................................................................................................................................................36 • Latvia, Financial and Capital Market Commission (National Coordinator for Financial Literacy Issues in Latvia appointed by OECD INFE) and Bank of Latvia...................................................................................................................................................................................37 • Romania, National Bank of Romania, Authority for Financial Supervision, Ministry of Education of Romania.....................38 • Russian Federation, Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and partners.........................................................................................39 Middle East & North Africa • Egypt, Egyptian Banking Institute.................................................................................................................................................................................................................40 • Lebanon, Central Bank of Lebanon, Ministry of Social Affairs..........................................................................................................................................41 • Palestine, Palestine Monetary Authority...............................................................................................................................................................................................42
❷ GLOBAL MONEY WEEK AWARD........................................................................................................................................................................................44 Africa • Ivory Coast, Ministry of Education, Positive Planet ....................................................................................................................................................................46 • Kenya, Central Bank of Kenya.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................47 • Madagascar, Ministry of Finance..............................................................................................................................................................................................................48 • Swaziland, Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Swaziland and Ministry of Education ..........................................................................49 Americas & The Caribbean • Colombia, National Organizing Committee of Global Money Week Colombia.....................................................................................................50 • Dominican Republic, Central Bank of the Dominican Republic........................................................................................................................................51 • Paraguay, Central Bank of Paraguay........................................................................................................................................................................................................52 Asia & The Pacific • Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank), Daffodil International University, JobsBD.....................................................................53 • Bhutan, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (Central Bank of Bhutan)...................................................................................................................54 • Mongolia, Bank of Mongolia (Central Bank), Mongolian Bankers Association..................................................................................................55 88
Europe & Central Asia • Belgium, Financial Services and Markets Authority...................................................................................................................................................................56 • Hungary, Ministry of Human Capacities, Ministry for National Economy, Money Compass Foundation (founded by the Central Bank of Hungary), Hungarian Banking Association, Junior Achievement Hungary..................................................57 • The Netherlands, Money Wise Platform, Ministry of Finance, Dutch Central Bank, Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................58 • Sweden, Finansinspektionen – Financial Services Authority of Sweden................................................................................................................59 • Ukraine, National Bank of Ukraine, USAID, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Finance, Banking University, Independent Association of Banks.................................................................................................................................................................................60 Middle East & North Africa • Egypt, Egyptian Banking Institute................................................................................................................................................................................................................61 • Libya, Central Bank of Libya.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................62 • Morocco, Moroccan Foundation for Financial Education....................................................................................................................................................63 • Palestine, Palestine Monetary Authority..............................................................................................................................................................................................64
❸ ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION (ECE) AWARD........................................................................................................................67 • Banco de Credito del Peru, Peru | “Contigo en tus Finanzas en Aula”.....................................................................................................................68 • Banqer, New Zealand | “Banqer”...............................................................................................................................................................................................................69 • BBVA Bancomer, Mexico | “Valores de Futuro”............................................................................................................................................................................70 • Financial Education Foundation, Italy | “EconomiAscuola – EconomicSchool”...............................................................................................71 • Mobaderoon, Syria | “FADA program”, “The Life Street Program” & “Aflatoun and Aflateen Program”................................72 • World Vision Armenia, Armenia | “IMPAC/SKYE Clubs”........................................................................................................................................................73
❹ CHILD & YOUTH FRIENDLY BANKING AWARD............................................................................................................................................75 • Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia | “School Banking project” and “Youthsaver account”................................76 • Diamond Bank Plc, Nigeria | “Diamond Cool-Teens”.............................................................................................................................................................77 • Finance Trust Bank Limited, Uganda | “Girl’s Choice Savings Account”, “Teen Classic Savings Account” and “Trust Junior Savers Account”...................................................................................................................................................................................................................78 • JSC Bank of Georgia, Georgia | “sCool Card”.................................................................................................................................................................................79 • Kerala Gramin Bank, India | “Junior Savings Account”.........................................................................................................................................................80 • National Savings & Credit Bank, Zambia | “Girls Dream Account”, “YAPASA Youth Empowerment Programme” and “Minor Savings Product”.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................81
❺ OUTSTANDING YOUTH ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP AWARD.......................................................................................................83 • Haris Murati, Montenegro | “Vrata Mladih”..................................................................................................................................................................................84 • Nikhiya Shamsher, India | “knicnacs.com”........................................................................................................................................................................................85 • Theodora Mihaela Cleja, Romania | “Minimalist Drawing Competition”..................................................................................................................86 • Victoria Yetunde Akinfolarin, Nigeria | “Bizkidz Board game”..........................................................................................................................................87 • Zhu Hui Yi, China | “21-day’s challenge to record money”..............................................................................................................................................88
❻ GLOBAL YOUTH ENTREPRENEUR AWARD........................................................................................................................................................91 Ye! Rising Star Award • Amira Cheniour, Tunisia | I.T.Grapes.........................................................................................................................................................................................................92 • Caritta Seppä, Finland | Tespack..................................................................................................................................................................................................................93 • Fredrick Matress, Malawi | Honey Products Industries.........................................................................................................................................................94 • Karim Dawood, Egypt | InterAct....................................................................................................................................................................................................................95 • Mabel Suglo, Ghana| Eco Shoes..................................................................................................................................................................................................................96 • Mario Jordan “Magellan” Fetalino III, Philippines | Acudeen Technologies......................................................................................................97 • Pietro Paolo Ganis, Italy | Laboratori Fabrici SRL.........................................................................................................................................................................98 Ye! Super Star Award • Elia Timotheo, Tanzania | East Africa Fruits Farm & Co Ltd..................................................................................................................................................99 • Judith Joan Walker, The Netherlands | African Clean Energy......................................................................................................................................100 • Momarr Mass Taal, The Gambia | Tropingo Foods.................................................................................................................................................................101
GALLERY.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................127 99
GPFI FORUM This year’s Global Inclusion Awards 2017, an initiative of Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI), was organized in collaboration with the German G20 Presidency/German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Prior to the Awards Ceremony, the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) Forum brought together speakers, panelists, 10
participants and partners from around the world from 2-3 May 2017 in Berlin, Germany. Some of the numerous sessions included “Regional Initiatives on Financial Inclusion”, “SME Finance in Sustainable Global Value Chains – Helping SMEs to Go Global”, “Strengthening Digital and Financial Literacy and Awareness”, and “Making Young Entrepreneurs Visible and Bankable.”
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its central tenet to “leave no one behind” forms the overarching framework of the German G20 presidency. The key guiding document for the GPFI until 2020, the Financial Inclusion Action Plan 2017 was therefore aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the highlighted a focus on vulnerable groups, including women and youth, but also forcibly displaced persons. In a similar vein, an emphasis
was placed on the financial inclusion of SMEs, especially to further their integration into sustainable global value chains via appropriate financing models, policy frameworks and incentives. During the Forum, outstanding young entrepreneurs and finalists of the ‘Global Youth Entrepreneur Award’ category also shared the business models that they use to create
positive social impact. Their insights and perspectives kicked off a discussion panel on possible next steps for increasing financing for youth-led SMEs by financial institutions, policy makers and other stakeholders. The GPFI, an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries and relevant stakeholders continues to carry forward work on financial inclusion, including the
implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan, endorsed at the G20 Summit in Seoul.
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ABOUT GLOBAL INCLUSION AWARDS 2017 INTRODUCTION The Global Inclusion Awards 2017, recognise and honour those that achieve greatness and demonstrate innovation in financial, social and livelihoods education, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurial support for children and youth at the national, regional and international level. AWARDS CEREMONY 2017 The 6th annual Global Inclusion Awards Ceremony was held on 3 May
2017 at the historic Meistersaal in Berlin, Germany. The event was organized by Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI) and the German G20 Presidency/German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
GOALS OF THE GLOBAL INCLUSION AWARDS 2017 • Develop public awareness and understanding of the importance of financial inclusion and financial
capability for children and youth. • Encourage national authorities, NGOs and financial institutions to strive for excellence in Economic Citizenship Education programs and thereby promote the advancement of their services. • Acknowledge outstanding young entrepreneurs and economic citizenship activists.
6 AWARDS CATEGORIES The Global Inclusion Awards consists of the following 6 award categories: 1) CYFI Contry Award 2) Global Money Week Award 3) Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award 4) Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award 5) Outstanding Youth Economic Citizenship Award 6) Global Youth Entrepreneur Award
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• Demonstrated substantial efforts in engaging and collaborating with different local stakeholders including financial service providers and civil society organizations. • Demonstrated GMW activities are organized in a cost sensitive manner. The Global Money Week Award is awarded to a governmental/national authority (or a group of governmental authorities) leading and coordinating the engagement of the country in the Global Money Week activities. ❸ ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP
EDUCATION (ECE) AWARD
The Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award acknowledges the accomplishments of organizations who have effectively implemented outstanding financial, social and livelihoods education programs in the field. Specific criteria for the Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award 2017:
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CYFI COUNTRY AWARD
The CYFI Country Award acknowledges the accomplishments of government authorities (for example central banks, ministries of education) in building alliances among key national stakeholders, initiating child and youth friendly financial regulation and expanding the reach of quality Economic Citizenship Education through formal and non-formal education channels. Countries were evaluated for achievements in 2016. Specific criteria of the CYFI Country Award 2017: • Demonstrated exceptional accomplishments and innovation in delivering financial education and inclusion policies and programs for children and youth. • Demonstrated strong alliances building between policymakers and financial regulators. • Demonstrated an exceptional strategy to implement Child and Youth Finance initiatives.
• Demonstrated substantial efforts in building alliances among local stakeholders. The CYFI Country Award is awarded to a governmental/national authority leading financial education and inclusion coordinated efforts at national level. ❷ GLOBAL MONEY WEEK AWARD
The Global Money Week Award acknowledges the efforts and accomplishments of countries in implementing “Global Money Week 2017” held between 27 March - 2 April 2017 at the national level. Specific criteria for the Global Money Week Award 2017: • Demonstrated exceptional diversity, efficiency and innovation in GMW activities. • Country reached a significant number of children and youth, directly and indirectly.
• Demonstrated successful design and delivery of financial, social and livelihoods educational programming, while encouraging greater financial inclusion for children and youth. • Demonstrated leadership in inspiring change while developing innovative approaches that solve pressing needs facing children and youth. • Demonstrated innovative partnership building, including private-public initiatives and combined efforts with financial service providers and other nonprofit organizations. • Demonstrated that results are tracked and documented. • Demonstrated that results show a positive, tangible and sustainable impact on the lives of children and youth. • Demonstrated long term commitment to the communities served. • Demonstrated commitment to the advancement of Economic Citizenship, including financial inclusion, highlighting creative, cost-effective approaches that make a significant impact in the lives of children and youth. The Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award 2017 is open to all organizations that design and/or deliver educational programming for children and youth. 13
6 AWARD CATEGORIES CONT. ❹ CHILD & YOUTH FRIENDLY
or online programs to aid education of children and youth.
The Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award acknowledges the accomplishments of financial service providers that pioneer innovative and original Child and Youth Friendly Banking Products, combined with an education component, delivered through a variety of media channels and employing a variety of learning methodologies.
The Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award 2017 was open to applicants from formal, deposit taking financial institutions.
BANKING AWARD
Specific criteria of the Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award 2017: • Demonstrated products and services developed and provided are consistent with the Child and Youth Friendly Banking Principles. • Demonstrated exemplary partnerships with schools and/ or community centers. • Demonstrated development and active engagement in educational programming in collaboration with civil society and education authorities. • Demonstrated development of original and novel television, radio, 14
❺ OUTSTANDING YOUTH ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP AWARD
The Outstanding Youth Economic Citizenship Award highlights the activities of children and youth to raise awareness of the importance of financial education and/or financial inclusion for young people, both in school and/or in other community settings. Specific criteria for the Outstanding Youth Economic Citizenship Award 2017: • Projects included a financial education and/or financial inclusion aspect. • Peer-to-peer formal and non-formal education activities/projects were highly preferred.
• Other children and youth are involved in the entire process of creating and delivering the activity/ project. • The project demonstrated tangible results and achievements. • The project had a follow-up component that encourages ongoing engagement of the participants with the project. Applicants had to be between 8 - 20 years of age. ❻ GLOBAL YOUTH ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
The Global Youth Entrepreneur Award is designed to celebrate exceptional young entrepreneurs who are running an enterprise which has the potential for high job creation and sustainable impact. The Global Youth Entrepreneur serves as an inspiration to other young entrepreneurs around the world. Specific evaluation criteria of the Global Youth Entrepreneur Award and special recognitions included:
ABOUT APPLICATIONS • The entrepreneur was running a successful, revenue generating enterprise. • The enterprise had high potential for growth. • The enterprise had a positive impact on society. • The enterprise had high potential for sustainable job creation. This year, two global winners were chosen for this award. These included one winner of the Ye! Rising Star Award (for enterprise with an annual turnover of under 500,000 US dollar) and the Ye! Super Star Award (for enterprise with an annual turnover of 500,000 US dollar or above). • The entrepreneur had to be between 16 - 30 years of age and had to be the founder/co-founder of the enterprise. • The enterprise had to be legally incorporated. • The enterprise had to be over a year old with a proven customer base. • The enterprise was post-revenue. This award was supported by the German Presidency of the G20.
GENERAL CRITERIA FOR APPLICANTS The Global Inclusion Awards 2017 focus on individuals, youth representatives and government authorities operating at both the national and global level that have excelled in the promotion of Economic Citizenship for children and youth through a combination of financial access and education. The work for this will be evaluated on the following aspects: • Excellence: Nominees must be of outstanding character and reputation. • Accountability: Nominees must demonstrate good governance and transparent financial management. • Creativity: Nominees must show creative use of resources to deliver innovative and flexible programs. • Partnership: Nominees must be able to demonstrate that integral to their activities is the spirit of effective collaboration and partnership. • Sustainability: Nominees must show how their work will continue to impact young people in the long term.
• Track record: Nominees’ initiative must be established in the community. • Impact: Nominees must address needs and achieve desired outcomes. • Outreach: Nominees must demonstrate current and future outreach of initiatives. • Cost-effectiveness: Nominees must show how their funds go a long way. Specific criteria to receive each award are detailed in the award categories.
HUNDREDS OF APPLICATIONS WERE RECEIVED Responses to this year’s call for nominees was outstanding, and hundreds applications were received – many thanks to everyone who applied! With so many inspiring applications the jury had a difficult decision in choosing the winners, narrowing down to 63 finalists across the 6 Awards categories.
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Through their richly varied backgrounds, our Jury members have years of professional experience as practitioners in the areas of finance, child welfare and/ or non-profit development. The members of the Jury are: • Chair: Natascha Beinker is Deputy Head of Division “Cooperation with the private sector/ sustainable economic policy” at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). She is German G20 GPFI Troika Co-Chair and Co-Chair for the GPFI SME Finance Sub-group. Natascha joined BMZ in 2002 and has held several responsibilities, including serving as the Head of Development Cooperation at the German embassy in Kenya. Before joining the ministry, she worked for Deutsche Post/ DHL and as a business journalist. Natascha studied Economics and Political science in Germany and Canada.
UNESCO Director General and the country’s former Minister of Family & Population, Former Assistant Minister of Egypt to the Republic of South Africa, the Czech Republic and Slovakia as well serving in Egypt’s diplomatic missions in Australia, Hungary, Austria and the United Nations. She is also a human rights activist advocating the rights of children and women and the former Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child based at the UN Headquarters. • Flore-Anne Messy is the Head of the Financial Affairs Division of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She is also Executive Secretary of the OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE). Prior to the OECD she worked at Deloitte and Touche Tomatsu Audit Paris, in the insurance and banking field.
GLOBAL INCLUSION AWARDS 2017 JURY MEMBERS • Jeroo Billimoria, CYFI Board representative of the Jury, Jeroo is the founder of Child & Youth Finance International and several other innovative and award-winning NGOs. She is a Skoll awardee, and an Ashoka and Schwab Fellow. Jeroo is a globally respected speaker and advocate of economic empowerment for children, and her social and humanitarian work has reached the lives of millions of children around the world. • Tatiana Chopova has 20 years of investment, strategy consultancy and finance experience. Tatiana is currently a Managing Director in AlpInvest Partners’ and she is also pursuing a PhD in social psychology. Previously she worked at McKinsey & Company (Moscow and Brussels) and Credit Suisse First Boston (London). • Ambassador Moushira Mahmoud Khattab, Ph.D is an Egyptian human rights activist, former politician & diplomat. She is Egypt’s candidate for
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• Lauren Young is the Personal Finance Editor at Thomson Reuters and works closely with both Reuters. com and other Thomson Reuters platforms. • Gert Jan van der Hoeven is the Founder and Managing Partner of H2 Equity Partners. Gert Jan is Chairman of the Investment Committee and has 25 years of investing experience. Before H2 Gert Jan has worked with McKinsey & Company • Shaun Mundy is a consultant who specializes in issues of financial capability and regulation. He has worked with CGAP, the OECD, the World Bank, and many other leading international organizations. • Dr. Henrik Naujoks is a Director at Bain & Company and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Global Exchange for Social Investment.
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long time, hardly anything more than a relic of old times and a city torn apart.
ABOUT MEISTERSAAL A BIT OF HISTORY For the last 100 years, the Meistersaal has been a symbol for this special suspense between tradition and the modern age like very few other places in Berlin. Many famous artists, like Kurt Tucholsky, Peter Alexander, David Bowie, Udo Lindenberg, U2, and Herbert Grönemeyer – have come here and still come here to be inspired by its special atmosphere. 1910 – 1913 – Showpiece of Berlin’s craftsmen pride The Greater Berlin Builders’ Association building was built as an influential association’s representative headquarters in Berlin’s music quarter. The Meistersaal was its impressive centerpiece. Here, the master craftsmen’s diplomas were awarded to builders, which led to the name Meistersaal. On October 18th 1913, the press praised the building at its completion: “The opening of the Meistersaal in Köthener Straße met all expectations that were placed in this new and attractive Berlin concert hall. In addition to the beautiful and
tastefully decorated interior it has a very favorable acoustic.” 1920er – The „Roaring Twenties“ In the 1920s, the concert hall’s special flair and its exceptional suitability for musical events of all sorts turned it into a hub for the most important artists of their time. Here, in close proximity to Potsdamer Platz, was where the heart of the cosmopolitan city of Berlin was beating. But not only the most important artists of lighter and more serious musical styles of their time gathered in the Meistersaal. Renowned artists like John Heartfield and George Grosz attracted a lot of attention here as well as Kurt Tucholsky, who read from his scripts at the Meistersaal. 1945 - 1964 – Marked by war and separation The Second World War brought about an important turning point for the Meistersaal as well. Massively damaged and only poorly repaired, located very close to the Berlin Wall, and far off the center of the new West-Berlin it was a mere shadow of its formerly glamorous existence for a
1965 - 1992 – Let the music play ... In the 1960s the record company Ariola, which already at the beginning of the Meistersaal’s existence had used it for recording sessions with famous artists like Zara Leander due to its famed acoustic, decided to move into the Meistersaal, which resembled a new beginning. From 1976 onwards “Meisel-Musik-Verlage” (Meisel musical publishers) took over the building in Köthener Straße and set up their Hansa recording studios there. The Meistersaal was renamed “Studio 2” and was used for recording sessions by artists like David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Eartha Kitt, Peter Maffay, Udo Lindenberg, Udo Jürgens, Marillion, Roland Kaiser, Iggy Pop, Nina Hagen, Marianne Rosenberg, Nena, Die Toten Hosen, Ute Lemper, Reinhard Mey and Richard Claydermann. The world famous U2 Album “Achtung Baby” that wrote musical history was primarily recorded at the Meistersaal, which then was known under the name “the big hall by the wall.” After 1993 – Old glamour in the New City Center The reconstruction of the Meistersaal to its initial form was carried out under the supervision of the Meisel Family. Carefully and with great love to detail the remnants of various structural modifications in the last decades were removed and the hall regained its historic character – the deep sleep came to an end and this jewel full of traditions was woken to a new and exciting life in Berlin’s new old city center. January 2009 – Reopening The Meistersaal was remodeled by mid-2008. Modern technology (a high-resolution projector with 9.000 ANSILumen, a 3x4 m large extendable screen, elaborate stage- and lightingtechnology, an outstanding sound system as well as an automated curtain) was installed, respecting the rules of historic preservation and a brand new smokers’ lounge was set up. Another new addition is our “Wall of Fame” in the entrance area, which presents famous singers and bands that were and/or are frequent guests at the Meistersaal.
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FINALISTS & WINNERS ❶ CYFI COUNTRY AWARD Africa REGIONAL WINNER: • Zambia, Bank of Zambia |“National Strategy for Financial Education (2012-2015); Curriculum Integration Process” | REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Burkina Faso, Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development | “Program of Financial and Social Inclusion” • Rwanda, National Bank of Rwanda |“Draft of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Rwanda 20172020” Americas & The Caribbean REGIONAL WINNER: • Peru, Superintendence of Banks, Insurances and Private Administrations of Pensions |“Implementation of the Financial Education component of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (ENIF)” | REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Chile, Central Bank of Chile, Superintendence of Banks and Financial Institutions |“Central en tu Vida, Financial Inclusion Strategy” • El Salvador, Central Bank of El Salvador |“Financial Education Program”
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Asia & The Pacific REGIONAL WINNER: • Indonesia, Indonesia Financial Services Authority |”Indonesia National Financial Literacy Strategy and Financial Inclusion Initiatives” | REGIONAL FINALISTS: • India, Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, National Centre for Financial Education |”National Strategy for Financial Education and Overall Country Child Financial Inclusion Advancements” • Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan |”Children and Youth Financial Literacy Program, under Phase 2 of the Pakistan National Financial Literacy Program (NFLP)” Europe & Central Asia REGIONAL WINNER: • Romania, National Bank of Romania, Authority for Financial Supervision, Ministry of Education of Romania | “Financial Educational National Programs” | REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Azerbaijan, Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Economic Education Service of the Center for Research and Development |“Financial Literacy” • Georgia, National Bank of Georgia |“ National Strategy for Financial Literacy; SchoolBank
project led by NBG; Curriculum integration process” • Latvia, Financial and Capital Market Commission (National Coordinator for Financial Literacy Issues in Latvia appointed by OECD INFE) and Bank of Latvia |“National Strategy for Financial Literacy in Latvia (20142020)” and “Diversity of Teaching and Learning Methodologies for Training Financial Literacy”• Russian Federation, Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and partners | Ministry of Finance and World Bank project “Increasing financial literacy of population of the Russian Federation” (Introducing financial literacy in Russian schools at the national level; national-level awareness-raising campaigns) Middle East & North Africa REGIONAL WINNER: • Egypt, Egyptian Banking Institute |“Shaping the Future Initiative” | REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Lebanon, Central Bank of Lebanon, Ministry of Social Affairs |“Financial education initiatives and pilots” • Palestine, Palestine Monetary Authority |“National Strategy for Financial Inclusion in Palestine”
❷ GLOBAL MONEY WEEK AWARD GLOBAL WINNER: • Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank), Daffodil International University, JobsBD SPECIAL RECOGNITION: • Ivory Coast, Ministry of Education, Positive Planet SPECIAL RECOGNITION: • Libya, Central Bank of Libya Africa REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Ivory Coast, Ministry of Education, Positive Planet • Kenya, Central Bank of Kenya • Madagascar, Ministry of Finance • Swaziland, Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Swaziland and Ministry of Education Americas & The Caribbean REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Colombia, National Organizing Committee
of Global Money Week Colombia • Dominican Republic, Central Bank of the Dominican Republic • Paraguay, Central Bank of Paraguay Asia & The Pacific REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank), Daffodil International University, JobsBD • Bhutan, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (Central Bank of Bhutan) • Mongolia, Bank of Mongolia (Central Bank), Mongolian Bankers Association Europe & Central Asia REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Belgium, Financial Services and Markets Authority • Hungary, Ministry of Human Capacities, Ministry for National Economy, Money Compass Foundation (founded by the Central Bank of Hungary), Hungarian Banking Association,
Junior Achievement Hungary • The Netherlands, Money Wise Platform, Ministry of Finance, Dutch Central Bank, Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science • Sweden, Finansinspektionen – Financial Services Authority of Sweden • Ukraine, National Bank of Ukraine, USAID, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Finance, Banking University, Independent Association of Banks Middle East & North Africa REGIONAL FINALISTS: • Egypt, Egyptian Banking Institute • Libya, Central Bank of Libya • Morocco, Moroccan Foundation for Financial Education • Palestine, Palestine Monetary Authority
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❸ ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION (ECE) AWARD WINNER: • Banqer, New Zealand | “Banqer” FINALISTS: • Banco de Credito del Peru, Peru | “Contigo en tus Finanzas en Aula” • BBVA Bancomer, Mexico | “Valores de Futuro” • Financial Education Foundation, Italy | “EconomiAscuola – EconomicSchool” • Mobaderoon, Syria | “FADA program”, “The Life Street Program” & “Aflatoun and Aflateen Program” • World Vision Armenia, Armenia | “IMPAC/SKYE Clubs”
❹ CHILD & YOUTH FRIENDLY BANKING AWARD WINNER: • Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia | “School Banking project” and “Youthsaver account” FINALISTS: • Diamond Bank Plc, Nigeria | “Diamond Cool-Teens” • Finance Trust Bank Limited, Uganda | “Girl’s Choice Savings Account”, “Teen Classic Savings Account” and “Trust Junior Savers Account” • JSC Bank of Georgia, Georgia | “sCool Card” • Kerala Gramin Bank, India | “Junior Savings Account” • National Savings & Credit Bank, Zambia | “Girls Dream Account”, “YAPASA Youth Empowerment Programme” and “Minor Savings Product”
❺ OUTSTANDING YOUTH ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP AWARD WINNER: • Nikhiya Shamsher, India | “knicnacs.com” FINALISTS: • Haris Murati, Montenegro | “Vrata Mladih” • Theodora Mihaela Cleja, Romania | “Minimalist Drawing Competition” • Victoria Yetunde Akinfolarin, Nigeria | “Bizkidz Board game” • Zhu Hui Yi, China | “21-day’s challenge to record money”
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❻ GLOBAL YOUTH ENTREPRENEUR AWARD YE! RISING STAR AWARD: Mabel Suglo, Ghana | Eco Shoes FINALISTS: • Amira Cheniour, Tunisia | I.T.Grapes • Caritta Seppä, Finland | Tespack • Fredrick Matress, Malawi | Honey Products Industries • Karim Dawood, Egypt | InterAct • Mario Jordan “Magellan” Fetalino III, Philippines | Acudeen Technologies • Pietro Paolo Ganis, Italy | Laboratori Fabrici SRL YE! SUPER STAR AWARD: Momarr Mass Taal, Gambia | Tropingo Foods FINALISTS: • Elia Timotheo, Tanzania | East Africa Fruits Farm & Co Ltd. • Judith Joan Walker, The Netherlands | African Clean Energy SPECIAL RECOGNITION 1: YE! STAR – FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR: Amira Cheniour, Tunisia | I.T.Grapes SPECIAL RECOGNITION 2: YE! STAR – RURAL IMPACT: Fredrick Matress, Malawi | Honey Products Industries
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AWARDS FINALISTS - PROFILES
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❶ CYFI Country Award REGIONAL FINALISTS Africa Burkina Faso, Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development “Program of Financial and Social Inclusion” Rwanda, National Bank of Rwanda “Draft of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Rwanda 2017-2020” Zambia, Bank of Zambia “National Strategy for Financial Education (2012-2015); Curriculum Integration Process” Americas & Chile, Central Bank of Chile, Superintendence of Banks and Financial The Caribbean Institutions “Central en tu Vida, Financial Inclusion Strategy” El Salvador, Central Bank of El Salvador “Financial Education Program” Peru, Superintendence of Banks, Insurances and Private Administrations of Pensions “Implementation of the Financial Education component of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (ENIF)” Asia & India, Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, National Centre for The Pacific Financial Education “National Strategy for Financial Education and Overall Country Child Financial Inclusion Advancements” Indonesia, Indonesia Financial Services Authority “Indonesia National Financial Literacy Strategy and Financial Inclusion Initiatives” Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan “Children and Youth Financial Literacy Program, under Phase 2 of the Pakistan National Financial Literacy Program (NFLP)”
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Europe & Azerbaijan, Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Economic Education Service of Central Asia the Center for Research and Development “Financial Literacy” Georgia, National Bank of Georgia “National Strategy for Financial Literacy; SchoolBank project led by NBG; Curriculum integration process” Latvia, Financial and Capital Market Commission (National Coordinator for Financial Literacy Issues in Latvia appointed by OECD INFE) and Bank of Latvia “National Strategy for Financial Literacy in Latvia (2014-2020) and Diversity of Teaching and Learning Methodologies for Training Financial Literacy” Romania, National Bank of Romania, Authority For Financial Supervision, Ministry of Education of Romania “Financial Educational National Programs” Russian Federation, Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and partners “Increasing financial literacy of population of the Russian Federation” (Introducing financial literacy in Russian schools at the national level; national-level awareness-raising campaigns)
Middle East & Egypt, Egyptian Banking Institute North Africa “Shaping the Future Initiative” Lebanon, Central Bank of Lebanon, Ministry of Social Affairs “Financial education initiatives and pilots” Palestine, Palestine Monetary Authority “National Strategy for Financial Inclusion in Palestine”
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| CYFI Country Award
Burkina Faso | Africa Lead organization: Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development Program Name: “Program of Financial and Social Inclusion” Partners: Technical, financial and multilateral partners in Burkina Faso, commercial banks, decentralized financial systems of Burkina Faso and mobile phone companies
INTRODUCTION The Program of Financial and Social Inclusion in Burkina Faso aims to develop an integrated and viable mechanism to promote selfemployment through the setting up of specific support and financing schemes for low-income populations, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). The program places a strong emphasis on children and youth by, for example, developing financial products and credits for MSME founded by young people. The program was developed in 2016 and is meant to be implemented during 2017. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The program is based on a multistakeholder approach and intends to cover the 13 regions of Burkina Faso, with children and youth being identified as a specific target group, and aims to create a favorable frame 26
for the creation of micro enterprises as it is a lever to create employment. Thus, the program plans to facilitate access to credit for beneficiaries, including the youth willing or able to develop an income generating activity in any field. Another goal of the program is to develop financial products adapted to the needs of the poor such as micro-insurance and mobile banking. The program further strives to facilitate access to refinancing for Micro Finance institutions. These financial inclusion initiatives are combined with financial education projects, as the program plans to offer financial education trainings to promote the school enrollment of children. Financial education programs will also be developed for microcredit beneficiaries.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Over the course of 2016, tremendous work was put into the development of the national program of financial and social inclusion. • Five main programs to promote employability of young people were implemented between 2006 and 2012. • Throughout 2016, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development of Burkina Faso strived for Global Money Week 2017 to be the first nationally led campaign. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Burkina Faso has been recognized for the elaboration of the financial and social inclusion program. The strong focus put on youth and children in the financial and social inclusion program is particularly impressive.
CYFI Country Award |
Rwanda | Africa Lead organization: National Bank of Rwanda Program Name: “Draft of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Rwanda 2017-2020” Partners: Access to Finance Rwanda, Econsult Bostwana, AFI and Imani Development
INTRODUCTION Throughout 2016, the National Bank of Rwanda, together with several partners, worked on the elaboration of the draft of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy for Rwanda. The impact ambition of this program is very wide; the National Bank of Rwanda, thanks to the strategy, aims to reach a 100% financial inclusion rate of adults by 2020, but also aims to target and increase the financial inclusion rate of youth as well in collaboration with CYFI. Rwanda has previously launched a national level effort to increase the financial literacy levels of its population, with the adoption and continued implementation of the National Financial Education Strategy for 2013 - 2017. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The National Financial Inclusion Strategy includes a wide range of stakeholders and action areas. These action areas include, for example, Saving and Credit Groups, Digital Financial Services and other semiformal organizations providing financial services to low-income and rural households. The draft of the
National Strategy also intends to develop interoperability, allowing for payments and transfers between accounts at different types of financial institutions, a nationwide retail payments infrastructure to make use of electronic money, as well as the facility for low cost cross-border transfers.
Strategy further covers the key aspects of financial inclusion by including data collection for monitoring and evaluation. The National Bank of Rwanda will continue to work with CYFI and other stakeholders to promote the financial inclusion of children and youth in the strategy implementation phase.
The Strategy will also cover regulation, insurance and consumer protection. As part of the program, financial inclusion is paired with financial education and literacy to improve financial understanding in relation to insurance, the management of credit and fees of financial products and services, and mobile money. Thus, the program aims to ensure that regulation remains consistent with innovation and does not restrict developments that can improve financial inclusion. In the document, a focus is also placed on long term saving, particularly through the establishment of an informal sector pension’s scheme, based on Digital Financial Services. In the strategy, certain action items will target children and youth directly. The draft of the National Financial Inclusion
ACHIEVEMENTS • The percentage of households with at least one saving account increased from 36% to 54% from 2010 to 2014. • 42% of the adult population and 23% of young adults own a bank account. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Rwanda has been recognized for the elaboration of a very thorough draft of the National Strategy of Financial Inclusion, completing the National Strategy for Financial Education. The National Strategy for Financial Education was already an outstanding advancement, and the elaborated national strategy on financial inclusion is very promising for further advancement of financial education and inclusion of the children and the youth in Rwanda.
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| CYFI Country Award
Zambia | Africa Lead organization: Bank of Zambia Program Name: “National Strategy for Financial Education (2012-2015); Curriculum Integration Process” Partners: The implementation of NSFE is being led by the Government through the Bank of Zambia, Pensions and Insurance Authority, Security and Exchange Commission. Other partners include the financial services providers, civil society, donor partners, NGOs, Bankers Association of Zambia, Insurance Association of Zambia. Draft NFIS has been developed under the World Bank Financial Inclusion Support Framework, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Zambia, Pensions and Insurance Authority, Security and Exchange Commission, and the Competition and Consumer Protection authorities.
INTRODUCTION Zambia has been one of the pioneers in Sub-Saharan Africa in the development of the nationally-led financial education. Although the implementation has not started right away after the adoption of the strategy, in the past years Zambia has achieved significant advancements in promoting financial education for children and youth. The National Financial Literacy Week that coincides with Global Money Week has been a big outreach and creative success for implementing partners, as well as the Worlds’ Savings Day. The inclusion of financial education questions in the final exams in Zambian schools has been also a key achievement. As a next step towards enhanced financial capability of Zambian population the NFIS will be adopted in 2017, where children and youth are emphasized as a major target group, and indicators related to the increased access and use of savings and current accounts are embedded in the strategy. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The NFES is based on the comprehensive principles that 28
emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement and partnerships, maximizing costeffectiveness and inclusiveness; fostering sustainable changes integrating financial education in existing structures to increase long-term sustainability; client focused and need based approach and effective communication. In terms of financial inclusion, Zambia has been also one of pioneers in the region promoting the development of child friendly bank accounts by financial institutions and considering adjusting the regulation requirements in order to ease access to basic, safe and reliable financial products to children and youth.
ACHIEVEMENTS • In 2016 alone more than 100 financial education activities were held targeting the children and youth from different backgrounds. The activities emphasized the aspect of saving and the need to promote the saving culture among Zambian youth. Further, there was a nation-wide call to Open Accounts for all children and youths on the World Savings Day on 31
October 2016. As part of the launch event, the BoZ Governor with support from SBFIC & Bankers Association of Zambia hosted a Stakeholders Meeting for the CEOs from the financial sector to get consensus on the financial education sector in 2016. • Other activities of NFES implementation (with support of SBFIC) included Global Money Week implementation (more than 50,000 children reached), Money Box and Coin-a-thon competition, Savings Board Simulation Training of Trainers, MSME Business Simulation and other activities. • Since 2013 with the active support of BoZ and CYFI the number of child friendly products by commercial banks rose from 5 to over 30 and counting.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Zambia was recognized for the outstanding national efforts in relation both to financial education and financial inclusion of children and youth. The wide scope of the various project activities is not only particularly impressive and interesting, but innovative as well.
CYFI Country Award |
Chile | Americas & The Caribbean Lead organizations: Central Bank of Chile, Superintendence of Banks and Financial Institutions Program Name: “Central en tu Vida, Financial Inclusion Strategy“ Partners: SERNAC (Servicio Nacional del Consumidor) and FOSIS (El Fondo de Solidaridad y Inversión Social)
INTRODUCTION Financial inclusion and education in Chile is currently being led by the FIC (Financial Inclusion Commission). The organization is responsible for developing and monitoring the first Chilean National Strategy for Financial Education. As part of the FIC, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, the Central Bank and financial regulators and supervisors, led by the Ministry of Finance, have decided that technical teams should consider students and women as priority groups. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH In 2016, Chile carried out activities that will enable the expansion of financial inclusion and education in the country. Amongst the activities promoted in 2016 are the creation of the Department of Inclusion and Financial Education, which is developing a permanent financial education program for university students in the country, the celebration of the Financial Education Month led by SBIF, and the successful completion of the third Financial Education Fair, a public-private initiative of the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet. Furthermore, during 2016, technical teams of the FIC mapped the existing financial education initiatives. The FIC has also been examining financial
literacy as well as financial capacities of the Chilean population through the analysis of PISA and SBIF-CAF surveys. They have also analyzed the OECD’s financial education definition, aiming to adapt it to the country’s reality. Moreover, together with the Ministry of the Interior and the Association of Banks, the SBIF established a public-private working table to deal with the offenses of card cloning and updating security measures for ATMs. This allowed the “#CuidaTuTarjeta” campaign. The program was launched in 2013 with the purpose of teaching people more about economics and the role of the Central Bank in a simple, clear and entertaining way. The program has a series of educational resources that are displayed on the website or delivered physically to participants or beneficiaries of “Central en tu Vida”. An additional resource created is the application “Inflation in your life”, which can be downloaded for free from cell phones. The strategy strives to establish an integrated and organic educational program for teachers and students, one truly educating and not just raising awareness.
Bank must first complete at least one of the modules. Teachers who carry out the newly appointed activities will be able to access educational material (videos and printed pedagogical forms). In this way, it is intended that teachers interested in the subject participate in more than one activity, acquiring knowledge and skills through various educational resources and educational instances. Students are expected to participate in both the guided activities, the educational workshops of the play space, an economy contest, and to make use of the developed applications and the pedagogical resources designed for them (animations and a game dealing with inflation).
The strategy further aims to incorporate teachers into the distance learning course, which also includes a series of face-to-face workshops for participants, and teachers who request guided visits to the Central
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Chile was recognized for developing strong initiatives in the field of financial education and inclusion in 2016, especially with the set-up of the Financial Inclusion Commission.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Financial education has been recently included into two elementary school grades and in one high school grade. • During 2017, the FIC will work with the Ministry of Education’s technical teams in order to achieve a solid implementation and evaluation of the impact of such critical changes.
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El Salvador | Americas & The Caribbean Lead organization: Central Bank of El Salvador Program Name: “Financial Education Program” INTRODUCTION Since the end of 2015, the importance of implementing financial education in the educational curricula of El Salvador has been an ongoing project. For this reason, the Ministry of Education (MINED) was part of the Financial Education Program of El Salvador (PEF). AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH While El Salvador does not yet have a national financial education strategy, there is a clear focus on young people and a process of including financial education into the school curriculum, with several initiatives carried out in 2016 focusing on achieving this goal. For example, one of the strategically implemented 2016 initiatives was a pilot project preparing professors (Training of Teachers), consisting of a 21-hour seminar given to 120 teachers. At the same time, the financial education material was incorporated into study books. These teachers then taught financial education material in 24 schools in the country for the first time, reaching 12,000 students in 2016, with an aim of reaching over a million children by 2019.
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Additionally, arrangements have been initiated so that the Commission of Financial Education from the Financial Education Program validates the start of this project. The new interinstitutional agreement, signed in 2016, allows other institutions to join in the efforts being made. Furthermore, this agreement allows for other institutions to join in the coordinated activities carried out within the program by a private financial institution and two foundations with the aim of promoting financial education. El Salvador also carried out a vast range of activities which promote the expansion of financial inclusion and education. Amongst these activities was a preparatory manual for teachers, which was based on simple concepts regarding financial education and consumer empowerment. The manual was tested in 2016, and is currently being evaluated. Furthermore, mathematics textbooks were also evaluated, meaning that financial education will be included in those textbooks as well.
ACHIEVEMENTS • During 2016, the Ministry of Education worked extensively on developing the books, the PEF trained several professors who are working on the project, and have been sharing material that served as a basis for the development of the topics. • Throughout 2016, El Salvador was working on other financial inclusion related activities such as developing a Training Manual for Professors, SchoolBank as well Global Money Week. • A strategic alliance was also outlined in 2016. This alliance, which is a new interinstitutional agreement, allows other institutions to join in the efforts of promoting financial education. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS El Salvador was recognized as having made innovative efforts to financially educate their youth population, including the creation of the alliance.
CYFI Country Award |
Peru | Americas & The Caribbean Lead organization: Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y Administradora Privadas de Pensiones (SBS) Program Name: “Implementation of the Financial Education component of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (ENIF)” Partners: Ministry of Education
INTRODUCTION With the support of the Ministry of Education (MdE), the Superintendent of Banks, the Insurance and Private Pension Funds (SBS) and the Central Bank of Peru, financial inclusion and education are now important areas of discussion in the country. Peru has consistently worked towards providing financial education, and continues striving to include adults, teenagers and children in this effort. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH In 2016, the MdE approved a new national curriculum which incorporates a financial competence component for all basic education and approved curricular programs for elementary and high schools, with roll-out beginning in 2017. Both curriculum versions establish a gradual and progressive process of cognitive achievement in each cycle (combination of 2 or 3 academic years), with the Curricular Programs presenting examples of outputs per year. The economic-financial competence Number 19, responsible management of economic resources, is divided in the following capacities: (i) understanding the functioning of the economic and financial system and (ii) making economic and financial decisions. This competence is
included in two curricular areas: “Social Personal – Citizenship” in Primary School Level and “History, Geography, and Economics” in Secondary School, and will be gradually implemented between 2017 and 2019. Furthermore, Peru has also managed to develop financial education in primary and secondary schools, with the PLANEF (the national plan for financial education) as its main action point, so that students will be able to obtain knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their money well and to develop healthy financial habits by the time they leave school (basic education). Additionally, SBS, a member institution of the Multisectoral Commission on Financial Inclusion, has managed to re-design its financial education website, a website which is not only aimed at children and teachers but also at parents. The website includes new materials such as videos, lessons and other activities.
ATMs. These workshops were aimed, among others, at public school students from the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade (children between 8 to 12 years of age). • SBS conducted a mapping exercise of the financial education programs and initiatives in Peru. The purpose of the mapping exercise was to identify the more representative programs, highlighting the most relevant in terms of driving change in behaviors and attitudes, affordability, sustainability, replicability, and with the potential to be scalable. • SBS developed financial education initiatives targeted towards different populations. It has developed the program Mini-Finance “Mini Finanzas”, which teaches children about the importance of money and savings for the future by using educational games and theater. In 2015 and 2016, the program reached approximately 20,000 and 11,000 children, respectively.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Peru has been recognized for its comprehensive national strategy, and the innovation of the strategy in targeting young people as well as in targeting women. Peru is also recognized for the progress it has made in the region as compared to other countries as Peru has a broad and strong financial inclusion and education program.
ACHIEVEMENTS • In 2016, the SBS of Peru trained 11,618 beneficiaries in financial education and provided financial education workshops with an emphasis on cellular banking and 31
| CYFI Country Award
India | Asia & The Pacific Lead organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, National Centre for Financial Education Program Name: “National Strategy for Financial Education and Overall Country Child Financial Inclusion Advancements” Partners: Securities and Exchange Board of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, Forward Markets Commission, Ministry of Human Resource Development
INTRODUCTION Since 2010, India, while not unified in its efforts, has been taking steps towards advancing overall levels of financial education and financial inclusion within the country through various stakeholders and partners. Recognizing the lack of coordination, the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was formed. Within this council, the Sub-committee and Technical Group on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy was then headed by the Reserve Bank of India who designed and launched the National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE) in 2012. Since then, multiple initiatives have been executed to address the level of financial literacy throughout the country, but it was only in 2015 that the curriculum was finalized, and in 2016 when it was piloted and implemented in schools. These efforts were strengthened by innovative ways to incentivize implementers, such as free text books and certifications for teachers, which accelerated the goal of improving the levels of financial literacy in India. Beyond addressing financial literacy, India also pioneered a regulation that lowered the age to open and operate savings accounts to 10 years of age, clearly showing the commitment of the country to having an inclusive financial system for both adults and young people. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH India has followed a structured approach towards implementing their national strategy. Prior to implementation, an assessment of the need for financial education was executed, whereby a sector and segment focused approach was drafted (e.g. urban vs. rural, adult vs. youth, etc.). Upon the completion of these assessments, the country chose to address the growing need for financial education through the integration of basic financial education into the national curriculum. 32
Through the leadership of the NCFE, the following initiatives were taken forward by the country: • National Financial Literacy Assessment Test (NFLAT) – The NFLAT is a financial literacy test for students, which helps to ensure the quality of the education materials and curriculum, as well as measure its impact on the financial literacy levels of youth. • Financial Education Training Program (FETP) – The FETP is the NCFE’s initiative to train trainers and teachers in gaining knowledge and confidence to deliver financial education materials. • Money Smart School (MSS) Program – The MSS initiative is NCFE’s program that encourages schools to integrate financial education into their curriculum in a faster and easier manner. The NCFE provides benefits to schools, teachers, and students that participate, hence accelerating the basic financial education integration process across the country. • Financial Education Website – All materials and updates are made easily accessible for the public on the NCFE website. • Financial Education Campaign for Students to Reach Parents – The MOF has taken the initiative in which banks are invited to adopt a school, giving the banks the opportunity to visit and deliver MOF-provided materials (without any bank marketing allowed) on financial education for children to learn about various financial systems and financial products.
ACHIEVEMENTS By the end of 2016, India achieved the following milestones in advancing financial literacy and financial inclusion of young Indians: • Largest Financial Literacy Assessment in the world – since 2014, the NCFLAT is the largest financial literacy assessment globally and has covered 150,000 students every year,
and increased to more than 200,000 in 2016. • Financial Education Training Programs Delivered Across all Zones – a total of 50 Financial Education Training Programs for teachers and trainers have been delivered across India, with about 2,500 Money Smart Teachers certified as masters of training other trainers or teachers on the subject. This translates to being able to cover almost all states of India. • Successful Pilot of Money Smart Schools – Money Smart Schools are receiving support on full integration of the basic financial education integration is underway. There are currently 250 schools implementing the integrated financial education into the school curriculum. • Financial Education Website Available in 7 Regional Languages – the NCFE’s website has been put online, where all the financial literacy study materials have all been made available in seven regional languages. • Pioneering Regulation on Opening of Bank Accounts for Minors –the Reserve Bank of India’s regulatory innovation on allowing minors from age 10 and up to open and operate their savings account independently remains a ground-breaking regulation on recognizing children and youth as socio-economic actors in a country.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS India was recognized for having an impressive broad approach towards implementing financial education in the country. Its pioneering role in setting a regulation that’s unheard of has also provided a strong platform to bring to light the discussion that children and youth could also make socio-economic decisions for themselves and their community.
CYFI Country Award |
Indonesia | Asia & The Pacific Lead organization: Indonesia Financial Services Authority Program Name: “Indonesia National Financial Literacy Strategy and Financial Inclusion Initiatives” Partners: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Bank Indonesia, financial industries, universities, schools, NGOs
INTRODUCTION As a commitment to increasing financial literacy and inclusion of the Indonesian population, the Indonesia Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan or OJK) issued a regulation in 2013 to support consumer protection, whereby financial institutions are mandated to annually conduct an education program. In addition, OJK released the National Financial Literacy Strategy (NFLS) in 2013, which included young Indonesians as a target group. The strategy takes a Life Cycle Program approach, wherein a framework is adapted to address a person’s life stage (i.e. youth, working ages, pensioners, and women). With the launch of the implementation of NFLS in 2014, the youth segment took priority at the end of 2015. By 2016, financial education was structurally integrated into curriculum for Senior High School Students. In September 2016, the country’s President also launched its National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). Within this strategy, OJK furthered their efforts in December 2016 by issuing regulation aimed at improving not only financial literacy, but financial inclusion as well through the financial services sector for all (including youth), signaling the country’s recognition that access to financial services for young people is a cornerstone towards the economic empowerment of its citizens.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Indonesia has partnered extensively to achieve a cross-sectoral development and implementation of NFLS and NFIS, with multiple governmental agencies and stakeholders to ensure involvement from all sectors, and sustained support in its implementation. Innovations have also made Indonesia stand out in its drive to economically empower young people:
• Explicit funding model outlined – collaboration and compliance from financial institutions (FIs) are encouraged through the regulation to conduct financial education. • Clearly defined strategy for urban outreach – the action plan implemented included effective ways to reach urban population through an education website, social media campaigns, and lectures for university and high school students. • Clearly defined strategy for rural outreach – the action plan implemented included effective ways to reach the rural population through specific outreach programs designed to reach formal and non-formal education system students, as well as year-long advertisements both on local and national TV and radio as well as financial literacy cars (SiMOLEK). • Financial literacy access through minisite and mobile app – the Sikapiuangmu (“Manage your Money Wisely”) mobile application for Android and iOS platforms. • Student Savings Account Program –The SimPel program is a savings account specifically designed for students with easy, simple requirements and provides features in the framework of education and financial inclusion. It is aimed at building healthy savings habit and to introduce banking products and services from an early age. • National Savings Movement (Gerakan Nasional Menabung) – the National Savings Movement (GNM) has been used at a broader scope to increase national awareness about financial literacy and improving savings habit.
ACHIEVEMENTS • To be able to ensure that long-term impact is measured amongst the population, OJK has instituted the National Financial Literacy survey, which have been and will be conducted every 3 years, showing
that M&E is integrated into the country’s efforts. • In 2016, there were 276 SimPel bank participants registered, which reached 30,967 schools, and 3,005,992 accounts opened with a total saved amounting Rp842,7 billion (approx. US$ 63 million). • In 2016, SIMOLEK Financial Literacy Cars had 252,209 visitors in 2,093 financial education activities throughout the year.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Indonesia was recognized for its tailor-made framework and diversified approach to financial literacy, exhibited primarily through their use of the Life Cycle Program approach, separate strategies for urban and rural outreach, and highlighting youth as a special target group – ensuring better effectiveness of their impact. Indonesia also has a highly structured program and relatively higher outreach when calibrated to the percentage of its population covered.
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| CYFI Country Award
Pakistan | Asia & The Pacific Lead organization: State Bank of Pakistan Program Name: “Children and Youth Financial Literacy Program, under Phase 2 of the Pakistan Nationwide Financial Literacy Program (NFLP)” Partners: Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Ministry of Finance, Chain of Campuses in Pakistan (public and private), banking sector, civil society organizations implementation. The various stages and activities taken for the implementation of the program are as follows:
INTRODUCTION In 2011, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released its first-ever Nationwide Financial Literacy Program (NFLP), launched together with the support and collaboration of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA), Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and Bearing Point. The primary target group for the initial plan was adults and the rural population of the country. In mid-2015, SBP then released their National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), which complemented the NFLP and explicitly mentioned targeting the entire Pakistani population, including youth. At the end of 2015, these efforts were concretized through the launch of the Children and Youth Financial Literacy Program, which was housed under Phase 2 of the existing Nationwide Financial Literacy Program (NFLP). Furthermore, at the end of 2015, SBP released a project and call for proposal to fund the roll-out of effective financial literacy programs for young people, especially those in rural areas. This effort has since expanded to the creation of a more organized national platform across governmental agencies. The structured approach of Pakistan led to the implementation of a pilot project in 2016, expected to be further scaled in the coming years. Interestingly, the 34
SBP has also been open to the idea of integrating a component on access to financial services products for youth.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The key objective of the literacy program is to provide basic financial education to children and youth, and to train them for their future roles as social and economic actors. The program aims to provide a holistic learning experience that embraces knowledge and skills harnessed from both inside and outside of the classroom. Moreover, the SBP has stressed that this will provide the base to target youth at early stage, increasing financial inclusion in long run. For 2016, the program highlighted two areas to pursue: initiation of Children’s and Youth Financial Literacy program under the umbrella of NFLP, and the institutionalization of Financial Education for Children and Youth in a sustainable manner. The program has taken a very structured approach, starting with mapping the financial literacy landscape in the country before it has gone through with the implementation of the pilot. Through a holistic and structured approach, the program expects significant momentum from the various stakeholders involved, as well as a better understanding of the financial literacy landscape for youth in the country before it was further rolled-out to nationwide
1. Pre-project surveys and profiling 2. Pre-launch consultation - conduct focus group discussions/ consultative workshops with the relevant stakeholders 3. Formalizing partnerships and alliances: a. Identify potential partners, having a chain of campuses across Pakistan b. Develop an effective strategy to partner with banks 4. Development of curriculum, campaign roll-out and creation of progress tracking system 5. Capacity-building stage for trainers and teachers 6. Pilot launch 7. (Eventual) Roll-out to population
ACHIEVEMENTS At the end of 2016, clear outcomes that were achieved include: • Schools that will participate in the pilot and the first round of roll-outs were identified. • A working group on the implementation was established with stakeholders. • A structure for trainers and teachers monitoring was established. • There were approximately 20,000 kids already under the umbrella and test scores are being evaluated. • In addition to teaching financial education, actions for facilitation of access to financial services was being drafted. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Pakistan was recognized for its significant progress in relation to financial education in the country, from launching a strategy to piloting a program focused on children and youth within a short time-span. Pakistan’s engaged and broad approach in addressing children and youth demonstrates how a country could centrally address its youth segment.
CYFI Country Award |
Azerbaijan | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: Central Bank of Azerbaijan, Economic Education Service of the Center for Research and Development Program Name: “Financial Literacy” Partners: International Finance Corporation, Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation, Azerbaijan Banks Association, Azerbaijan Bank Training Center and Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association
INTRODUCTION In terms of financial education, 2016 was an outstanding year for the Economic Education Service of the Center for Research and Development of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. The country-wide strategy on financial literacy (2016-2020) was accepted by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBAR), and the Economic Education Service began implementing financial literacy activities based on this document. One of the first steps taken by CBAR was the establishment of the Financial Literacy Council. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The activities carried out by the partners in Azerbaijan are varied and unique at the same time. Besides activities such as school visits, teacher training and material development, the partners in Azerbaijan have had very active participation in Global Money Week, but also created innovative projects such as summer schools on financial
education, TV and Radio shows on financial education, as well as financial literacy camps for journalists and trainings on financial education for interns working at the CBAR. Furthermore, SBFIC and CBAR sent text messages to 100,000 mobile phone users on the International Savings Day (October 31st), highlighting the importance of budget planning and drawing people’s attention to the mobile apps and/or calculators available on play markets, both free of charge, on the Financial Education portal (www.bizimpullar.az) developed by CBAR. Azerbaijan was also part of a joint project led by CYFI and funded by the Visegrad Fund, thanks to which two trainings were organized in the country: “Active Learning Methods for Financial Education” and “Product Development” workshops. The participants of these workshops included employees of the CBAR Economic Education Service, relevant staff members of partner
organizations and commercial bank representatives.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The President of Azerbaijan approved Strategic Road Map for the prospects of the national economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan (http:// www.azernews.az/nation/106144. html), which includes special strategic objectives for increasing the level of financial literacy of the population. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Azerbaijan was recognized for the impressive list of activities within the country and for the support from the President which shows the highest commitment from the country to take financial education seriously.
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| CYFI Country Award
Georgia | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: National Bank of Georgia Program Name: “National Strategy for Financial Literacy; SchoolBank project led by NBG; Curriculum integration process” Partners: Steering Committee comprised of the representatives from the public (e.g. Ministry of Education), private (e.g. commercial banks) and civil sectors (e.g. universities, donor organizations). SchoolBank project partners include CYFI, Ministry of Education and Science, National Youth and Children Palace, Bank of Georgia and other FSPs
INTRODUCTION In 2016, Georgia achieved major progress in the promotion of financial education and financial inclusion for children and youth on the national level. The National Financial Literacy Strategy was adopted in mid-2016, with the aim of establishing effective collaboration amongst stakeholders to achieve common objectives. The integration of financial education in the compulsory school curriculum was seen as one of the key strategic elements in order to reach one of the main target groups – pupils and students. NBG continues to closely cooperate with the Ministry of Education on developing approaches and resources for successful integration of financial education in the school curriculum. Moreover, the National Bank of Georgia worked extensively on the promotion of an integrated approach to financial education and access to formal savings products for school children in Georgia over the course of 2016. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The objective of NBG is to construct
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the National Strategy of Financial Education into a public-private partnership (PPP), allowing for stakeholders from private and civil sectors to be as active and as entitled as the representatives from the public sector. This approach is quite innovative and is well reflected in the composition of the Steering Committee. Further, in the process of incorporating financial education in the mandatory school curriculum, NBG and the Ministry of Education are involving the financial sector representatives – an approach that promises to result in dynamic, real-life educational resources for children.
ACHIEVEMENTS • In 2016, NBG began close cooperation with the Ministry of Education in introducing financial education in the mandatory school curricula. In the first stage, the changes will address the civics education in classes VII – IX, for which the framework has already been prepared. NBG and the Ministry of Education are working on developing educational resources for
classes I-VI and X-XII as well. • NBG closely cooperates with local commercial banks on the SchoolBank project, helping them to design child-friendly financial products, as well as with CYFI, the Ministry of Education and Science and the National Youth and Children’s Palace. The objective is to implement the educational component of SchoolBank project at schools and informal educational centers countrywide, and, in parallel, encourage local banks to “adopt” schools and educational centers to provide financial services for the children.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Although in the early stages of development in relation to the development of the nationally-led efforts on financial education and financial inclusion agenda, Georgia has been recognized for its structured approach, and the variety of stakeholders involved is noteworthy for the foreseen advancements of efforts within the country.
CYFI Country Award |
Latvia | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: Financial and Capital Market Commission (National Coordinator for Financial Literacy Issues in Latvia appointed by OECD INFE) and Bank of Latvia Program Name: “National Strategy for Financial Literacy in Latvia (2014-2020)” and “Diversity of Teaching and Learning Methodologies for Training Financial Literacy” Partners: National Centre for Education, Consumer Rights Protection Centre, BA School of Business and Finance, Riga Technical University and University of Economics and Culture, JA-YE Latvia, the associations of professional service providers – the Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia and Latvian Insurers Association • Development of single standards for financial literacy competences for all sectors of society (based on OECD INFE Framework approved in 2016).
INTRODUCTION In 2012, the agreement on cooperation in the area of financial education was signed between the FCMC and the National Centre for Education (NCE), providing for the exchange of information regarding the development of content of training programs for financial education. In 2014, the National Strategy for Financial Literacy in Latvia was launched, with specific objectives for financial education in schools such as enhancing the general education curriculum regarding financial literacy, providing advisory support and expertise in developing training material for the National Centre for Education and promoting programs for the professional teacher qualification in financial literacy issues (for teachers of all subjects).
literacy –teachers and talented pupils are participating to creating such trainings. • Constant development and introduction of new materials, including on e-security, FinTech progression and others - FCMC educational portal www.klientuskola. lv. • FCMC has developed a new measurement system – the index of financial literacy (Index) for Latvian residents. The result of Index is the score calculated using an individual methodology during the first national financial literacy survey, or the average mark for seven financial literacy topics.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The PISA results showed that Latvian students performed above average, thanks to the continued support to the teachers and the students in financial education. • In 2016, a new tool was introduced regarding the Index – an individual testing tool to compare personal Index with the average in Latvia: http:// www.klientuskola.lv/lv/petijumi/ finansu-pratibas-indekss.html. • Although one of the biggest challenges encountered in Latvia was the creation of the content of the studies for the new generations of teachers, the focus that the partners in the country have put to address this challenge is seen through the outstanding achievement of the students (in Latvia, 80-90% of the teachers recognize now financial literacy as a key competence). JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Latvia has been recognized for including financial education in school curricula, and has several interesting innovations to propel financial literacy efforts nationwide.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Several outstanding, innovative activities have been carried out by partners in Latvia including: • Information exchange in e-environment as well as development of e-environment trainings (portals, interactive tools, tests and worksheets). • Self- made trainers for financial 37
| CYFI Country Award
Romania | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: National Bank of Romania, Authority for Financial Supervision, Ministry of Education of Romania Program Name: “Financial Education National Programs” Partners: National Council of Rectors; Schools; Universities; Financial Studies Institute; Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB/BSE); Professional Associations senior practitioners, innovators and young people from Romania and 50 other countries around the world, benefitting from the international experience presented by CYFI and other countries’ participants.
INTRODUCTION Financial education in Romania is carried out by the national regulators as well as the representatives of the private sector and civil society. In 2016, the most outstanding achievement in terms of financial education for young people was the approval of financial education as a mandatory subject in the secondary school curriculum (for students 14 years of age). The Ministry elaborated the curriculum, the competencies framework and the teaching methodology, which was approved for this subject, and recognizes GMW and SchoolBank as possible projects to be implemented by schools during the school year. Financial education has already been part of the primary school curriculum, with an optional subject for fourth-grade students, which reached more than 200,000 children across the country. Furthermore, Small Bankers Olympics is also held annually, involving pupils 10 years of age. In 2016, a SchoolBank pilot was launched in Cluj, one of Romania’s main cities, in collaboration with local schools, the National Bank fo Romania, the Ministry of Education and Banca Transylvania. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Financial education is taught through games and competitions in Romania. One example of such an innovative approach is the workshops led by the Authority for Financial Supervision. In order to explain the main principles of the non-banking financial markets to 38
children, FSA has used informal and humorous words in order to adapt childhood stories to the current day financial context. For example, LEGO was used in the private pensions market presentations as part of “Let’s talk about the non-banking financial markets” program for 7th grade students, in order to make it easier for students to understand how each person contributes to pension funds. For the capital market presentation, part of the same financial educational program, a game using “Super-lei” & “Spider-lei” (“lei” = the national currency) was played in order to illustrate the concepts of capital market mechanisms. At the end of June, NBR, FSA, the Ministry of Education and the FSI were partners of CYFI in organizing Child and Youth Finance International Summit 2016 held in Bucharest. The meeting gathered governmental officials,
ACHIEVEMENTS Through all of the programs and activities developed during 2016, the partners reached: • More than 245,000 children and youth. • More than 2,800 young students. • More than 3,500 trainers (both teachers and parents) from different cities. • More than 11,000 children and youth (directly and indirectly) through FSA Facebook page and FSA educational site. • More than 35,000 adults (parents, teachers, general population) through online tools and dissemination of printed materials. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Romania was recognized for the energy channeled into the engagement and progress within the country in relation to financial education. Not only is financial education part of the compulsory school curriculum, but there are several initiatives running, resulting in an innovative initiative and integrated approach.
CYFI Country Award |
Russian Federation | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and partners Program Name: “Ministry of Finance and World Bank project “Increasing financial literacy of population of the Russian Federation” (Introducing financial literacy in Russian schools at the national level; national-level awareness-raising campaigns) Partners: National and regional educational authorities, Ministry of Education and Science, leading Russian universities as well as wider financial sector community. Financial and private sectors are largely involved in national awarenessraising campaigns.
INTRODUCTION In 2011, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation launched the project on financial literacy and financial education in the country, aimed at raising the level of financial literacy of the population as a whole. However, financial literacy for children and young people is one of the main pillars of this national project. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The project’s ambition is quite unique and wide-reaching. Integration of financial education elements are present in different levels of the Russian educational system, thus equipping Russian youth with the necessary skills and knowledge to make sound financial decisions when entering adult life. Moreover, the project aims to increase a larger amount of private sector partners to the awareness campaigns and other activities of the project. Additional key pillars include the establishment of the nationwide system of teacher trainings in financial literacy, with federal and regional methodological hubs, and improving financial literacy of parents and teachers through financial education in schools. Furthermore, the project approach is holistic and systematic, and includes the development of materials, piloting, training trainers and implementation in schools.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The project has instigated a variety of financial education initiatives, projects and partnerships in the field in Russia. • In 2016 alone, piloting and the evaluation of educational programs in 5 pilot regions of Russia was conducted; more than 5,000 students, 3,000 parents and 200 teachers from 131 educational organizations participated in this evaluation. • In order to pilot, teacher trainings were conducted and educational materials for students, parents and teachers were tested. • A revision of these materials (version 2.0) is currently underway, as well as creation of electronic versions including infographics, cartoons and interactive educational elements. The Ministry of Finance is planning to print the materials and send them during 2017-2018 school year (about 6
million books). However, teachers have already begun using these materials in 2016 in various regions as part of the regional curriculum. Moreover, all training materials are available on the official website of the Ministry for public use (http://minfin. ru/ru/om/fingram/directions/ programs/). • Results of the mid-term evaluation showed that more than 70% of children in grades 8-10 who participated in testing wish to continue this course, and believe that it has practical importance and will help them to make right financial decisions in the future. Furthermore, 80% of teachers commended the developed materials and reported that financial literacy courses have great educational potential. • Results of PISA 2012 were used as a baseline for educational programs. The results of PISA 2015 are not publicly available yet, but, according to the preliminary report, the level of financial literacy of the Russian children has improved.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Russia was recognized for its holistic and systematic approach in advancing financial literacy nationwide (addressing children, youth, parents and teachers), and for the integration of finance into the various levels of the education system. 39
| CYFI Country Award
Egypt | Middle East & North Africa Lead organization: Egyptian Banking Institute Program Name: “Shaping the Future Initiative” Partners: Banque Misr, VISA and Modern Education Schools
INTRODUCTION During 2016, Egypt moved several steps forward in the “Shaping the Future” program through the drafting of the National Strategy. The strategy is currently being reviewed by the Central Bank of Egypt and will be published in 2017. As of 2016, the Central Bank of Egypt is leading the development of the financial inclusion strategy, while the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI) is leading the strategy on financial literacy. These two strategies are key to providing a national framework to coordinate the efforts towards promoting financial inclusion and financial literacy. The development of the new Unit for Financial Inclusion, recently established within the Central Bank of Egypt, is a clear example of the evolvement of Egypt’s commitment to promoting financial inclusion. This unit will aim to promote financial inclusion on the policy level, as well as to work with the banking sector to develop child and youth friendly products. Likewise, the EBI continues to work on promoting financial education and financial literacy to children and youth. Furthermore, 2016 marked a
shift in the strategy, moving towards ensuring the sustainability of the financial literacy and financial education efforts exerted, during and beyond its annual participation in the Global Money Week.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The ambition of the Shaping the Future program is two-fold. First, the program aims to create an impact on the larger eco-system of the Egyptian economy through the development of a national strategy on financial literacy. Additionally, it aims to create a direct impact on the entire population of Egyptian children and youth through financial awareness sessions and financial education in order to develop a generation of economic citizens capable of making sound financial decisions. The program strives to create a platform for all citizens to become more aware of their financial rights, helping them to make conscious financial decisions. Shaping the Future adopts a sustainable, inclusive approach that promotes sustainable public-private partnerships as well as partnerships with local and international relevant
bodies. Through bringing together stakeholders, an by coordinating and managing multi-lateral projects, the EBI builds on the individual expertise and resources of its partners to maximize impact and ensure the sustainability of its projects and activities. One of the projects developed in the framework of the project is the first pilot SchoolBank project in the Middle East and North Africa region, collaborating with Banque Misr and Modern Education Schools and thanks to the strategic partnership with CYFI. Another project, in partnership with VISA, National Bank of Egypt, and Banque Misr, aims to develop and implement a financial awareness campaign to public sector employees on the use and benefits of using their payroll cards. These two projects are a prime example in the shift of strategy that occurred after 2015, towards more sustainable projects, that will unite various stakeholders to maximize impact and ensure the sustainability, replicability, and scalability of these partnerships.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The Central Bank of Egypt in 2016 issued new regulations for mobile and digital payments. • The new regulations are part of the Central Bank of Egypt’s efforts in developing sustainable financial services in the perspective of a cashless society. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Egypt was recognized for laying out a broad and centralized program, showcasing their dedication to and effort in increasing financial literacy and capability of youth in the country.
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CYFI Country Award |
Lebanon | Middle East & North Africa Lead organizations: Central Bank of Lebanon, Ministry of Social Affairs Program Name: “Financial Education Initiatives and Pilots”
INTRODUCTION The aim of the Lebanese financial education initiative is to raise awareness on financial education for children and youth, to increase the level of commitment of banks and the public sector to financial inclusion initiatives, and to help contribute to a national strategy for financial education for children. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH There are increased efforts from both the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) when it comes to financial literacy and inclusion of the youth in Lebanon. Lebanon is not working on national strategies for financial inclusion and education yet, however, MOSA began mapping the financial education initiatives in the country in 2016 and both the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Ministry of Social Affairs are piloting small scale financial education initiatives in the country, with Global Money Week being one of the key initiatives. In 2016, the Central Bank of Lebanon held seminars on Financial Literacy concerning financial statements,
managing cash and savings, using consumer loans, investing in shares and bonds, and investing in managed funds. Various individuals from the private and public sectors, the Central Bank of Lebanon employees and university students attended the seminar. In addition, the UK Lebanon Tech Hub, whose mission is to develop and support small-to-medium size enterprises, to promote entrepreneurship and to bolster Lebanon’s knowledge economy, participated in the training sessions for the second time. During the event, young entrepreneurs had the opportunity to pitch their digital ideas in front of potential funders. Furthermore, over the course of 2016, the Central Bank of Lebanon organized eight student field visits to the Bank, where high school and vocational students participated in workshops where they learned about the role of the bank, monetary policy and cash circulation. In addition, students visited the money museum, library and the clearing house.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Global Money Week was led by the
Ministry of Social Affairs and had a strong public-private approach, with various banks and NGOs participating. • For the first time, Fransabank participated to GMW in 2016, organizing several bank visits for kids. During their visits, the Secretary General of the Higher Council for Childhood gave a presentation on Global Money Week concept. • The children received a simplified but complete banking overview, before they saw and experienced the check clearing process. • After the Global Money Week, the MOSA conducted a media campaign on TVs, radios, social media in partnership with Fransabank about the importance of the Global Money Week and the importance of saving money and planning for the future.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Lebanon was recognized for its interest and effort in increasing financial literacy and capability of its youth population, despite the current lack of a centralized effort, and for the individual activities organized by the Central Bank and the Higher Council of Childhood as a strong start for collaborative efforts. 41
| CYFI Country Award
Palestine | Middle East & North Africa Lead organization: Palestine Monetary Authority Program Name: “National Strategy for Financial Inclusion in Palestine”
INTRODUCTION Throughout 2016, the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NFIS) in Palestine was drafted and it is now in the process of receiving an official approval from both the cabinet and the President of the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA). The strategy is expected to be launched for implementation in the second half of 2017. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH One of the main strategic objectives of the strategy is to improve financial capability amongst students in schools, universities and community colleges. Moreover, the purpose of formulating a National Financial Inclusion Strategy is to harmonize and unite the numerous efforts that are currently being independently initiated, to improve financial inclusion in a more systematic manner and to focus on addressing the binding constraints on advancing financial inclusion. The overarching goals and strategic objectives of the national strategy were determined based on a thorough 42
analysis of the landscape of financial inclusion and an exercise to identify the binding constraints on accelerating the level of financial inclusion in quantitative and qualitative terms. The constraints, identified through the diagnostic study that was underpinned by comprehensive demand and supplyside surveys, were further analyzed through a series of brainstorming sessions by the technical group and working group members. The strategic measures were formulated through a consultative and collaborative process to address the identified key constraints in a systematic and effective manner. Furthermore, the Palestinian Monetary Authority has implemented other activities and initiatives around youth finance in the last two years, such as financial education workshops for students in schools, universities and community colleges and field visits for the above students to the PMA headquarters. In addition, the Palestinian Monetary Authority prepared a concept paper regarding the youth “Banking Week” and
presented it to the Arab Monetary Found in 2015; the paper has been approved by the central banks governor’s cabinet and published to all Arab countries to be implemented.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Palestine started providing financial education lessons as part of a smallscale pilot. • Palestine set up a monitoring and evaluation system for its financial inclusion strategy. • The Palestinian Monetary Authority finalized planning to implement the “Arab Financial Inclusion Day” in 2017. The launch was set as the 27th of April and it was the same for all Arab countries. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Palestine was recognized as its financial inclusion plans are aimed at increasing the financial education and inclusion of children and youth to better the financial landscape of the country and the region as a whole.
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â?ˇ Global Money Week Awards REGIONAL FINALISTS Africa Ivory Coast Ministry of Education Kenya Central Bank of Kenya Madagascar Ministry of Finance Swaziland Ministry of Finance - Micro Finance Unit, Central Bank of Swaziland Ministry of Education Americas & Colombia The Caribbean National Organizing Committee of Global Money Week Colombia Dominican Republic Central Bank of the Dominican Republic Paraguay Central Bank of Paraguay Asia & Bangladesh The Pacific Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank), Daffodil International University, JobsBD Bhutan Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (Central Bank of Bhutan) Mongolia Bank of Mongolia (Central Bank), Mongolian Bankers Association
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Europe & Belgium Central Asia Financial Services and Markets Authority Hungary Ministry of Human Capacities, Ministry for National Economy, Money Compass Foundation (founded by the Central Bank of Hungary), Hungarian Banking Association, Junior Achievement Hungary The Netherlands Money Wise Platform, Ministry of Finance, Dutch Central Bank, Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Sweden Finansinspektionen – Financial Services Authority of Sweden Ukraine National Bank of Ukraine, USAID, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Finance, Banking University, Independent Association of Banks
Middle East & Egypt North Africa Egyptian Banking Institute Libya Central Bank of Libya Morocco Moroccan Foundation for Financial Education Palestine Palestine Monetary Authority
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| Global Money Week Award
Ivory Coast | Africa Lead organizations: Ministry of Education, Positive Planet
INTRODUCTION Global Money Week 2017 was celebrated in a very festive manner in Ivory Coast this year as 5,120 children directly took part in the celebrations! The week was organized by the Financial Education Program from the Ministry of Education and by local NGO Positive Planet, along with participation from various government agencies, financial institutions and NGOs. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH During this celebration, the Financial Education Program, together with Positive Planet and other partners, organized a fair to promote financial education that reached more than 5,000 children and youth. Through this exhibition, volunteers from Positive Planet and the Financial Education Program could raise awareness amongst students, parents and teachers about the smart management of a budget and the importance of saving during the school holidays to prepare for the new school year. The 46
organizing team took photos in the stands with the students, parents and teachers to participate in the Global Money Week Selfie Challenge. Awareness raising sessions and financial education games were organized in several schools about the importance of saving, with participation from children at the primary school level up to university. During these financial education games, goodies and sweets were offered to the young people participating. For these sessions, a strong emphasis was placed on the notions of savings and budgeting, and the students from the participating schools took part in the Money Box Challenge. Young people also raised awareness amongst themselves through songs and poetry slams. One of the unique activities organized during the week was a big march, where young people walked around the city with banners expressing the financial needs of their age group. The marching youth were received by the
public authorities, including the Mayor of the Municipality of Bingerville. Furthermore, children and youth also had the opportunity to visit banks and ask all of their financial questions to bankers.
ACHIEVEMENTS • During GMW 2017, Ivory Coast reached 5,120 children and youth directly through various activities and 41,140 people were indirectly reached through various media channels. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Ivory Coast was recognized for the great variety of activities and the continuous participation of multiple sectors with a constant growth in outreach.
Global Money Week Award |
Kenya | Africa Lead organization: Central Bank of Kenya Partners: Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), Postbank Kenya, Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Nairobi Securities Exchange, Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority, Inuka Direct, Care International Kenya, Monture Africa, Junior Achievement Kenya, the University Students Community Organization (UNISCOO) and Nyeri High School
INTRODUCTION In 2017, the Central Bank of Kenya has re-taken the initiative to coordinate the GMW initiatives in the country, organize a wide variety of stakeholders and synchronize a diverse range of events. Together with other financial regulators, the Kenya Bankers Association, financial institutions and civil society organizations organized multiple financial literacy awareness events throughout the country. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH As part of the GMW celebrations, financial literacy awareness sessions were offered to children, youth, school teachers, churches and youth empowerment institutes. Throughout GMW, young people were able to visit the Central Bank of Kenya, the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and the Money Museum, to explore and learn about the history of money in Kenya, and various forms of investing.
This year, high school and university students had the opportunity to participate in debates, job shadowing experiences, dramas, as well as essay, writing and art competitions, all based on the GMW 2017 theme ‘Learn.Save.Earn’. Art interpretation competitions for University Students were also held in the country under the mandates of national financial regulators. The Kenyan banking sector, under the leadership of the KBA, was also actively involved in organizing awareness raising activities and active media outreach. Another long-time supporter of GMW, Postbank Kenya engaged the schools it cooperates with in a variety of interactive activities for students to learn about the importance of savings. Moreover, international and local NGOs, including CARE Kenya, Junior Achievement Kenya and Inuka Direct reached out to local youth communities with money awareness sessions, games, visits to the banks and sports competitions.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Throughout GMW 2017, the Central Bank of Kenya, together with partners and participating organizations, reached over 62,000 children and youth through visits to schools, institutions, competitions and other fun filled and interactive activities. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Kenya was recognized for its impressive outreach to young people. This was achieved in the country by synchronizing a number of diverse GMW activities that were carried out by various financial sector regulators, private sector and civil society organizations. The events were largely informative, interactive and fun for the students and many organizations were inspired to take part in GMW 2017.
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| Global Money Week Award
Madagascar | Africa Lead organization: Ministry of Finance Partners: The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Ministry of Employment, Technical Education and Professional Training, the Ministry of Communication, the Central Bank of Madagascar, the National Coordination for Financial Inclusion, the Association of Micro Finance Institutions, the Madagascar Insurance Committee, UNCDF and the national radio and television of Madagascar
INTRODUCTION 2017 marked the second year that Madagascar participated in GMW. During the celebration, several events and activities were organized around the capital. Through the celebrations, more than 3,600 children and youth were directly reached and more than 150,000 other children were reached indirectly through campaigns broadcasted on national media channels. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH With the support of the Ministry of Finance, the celebration of the GMW 2017 was officially launched on 27 March in Antananarivo, and the activities continued throughout the week. This included financial education sessions, student visits to financial institutions, sharing of experiences from young entrepreneurs, conferences, debates and a television program focusing on the financial inclusion of youth. Financial education sessions were held for 1,000 students in several 48
middle and secondary schools. Furthermore, the Ministry of National Education offered books and school kits during the celebration. In total, 31 schools and universities, 12 financial institutions and 4 private companies took part in this celebration. The initiative was highly appreciated by children and young people, as well as by representatives of schools and universities. They all expressed the wish for GMW to become nationally institutionalized to enable a greater reach for financial literacy efforts across the country. Moreover, Bolo’s song “Ny mahasoa aloha vao ny mahafinaritra”, which was written specifically for GMW 2017, was a great success amongst the children and youth. With the support of the Ministry of Finance and Budget and the attendance of the Minister of National Education and the Minister of Communication, the closing celebration of the Global Money Week took place on Thursday, April 6, 2017 in Antsahavola. Participation
certificates and awards were given to all GMW 2017 participants. It is believed that this second GMW celebration will have an important and long term impact regarding financial inclusion and financial education in Madagascar, and will strengthen relationships between the government of Madagascar and CYFI.
ACHIEVEMENTS • During GMW 2017, Madagascar reached 4,000 children and youth were directly and 41,140 people were indirectly reached through various media channels. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Madagascar was recognized for a great multi-stakeholder approach and a wide variety of activities. The strong involvement of governmental stakeholders shows the strong commitment of the country to work on the topics of financial inclusion and financial education.
Global Money Week Award |
Swaziland | Africa Lead organizations: Ministry of Finance - Micro Finance Unit, Central Bank of Swaziland and Ministry of Education Partners: Swaziland National Youth Council, Financial Services Regulatory Services (Stock Exchange), Nedbank, First National Bank, Standard Bank, Building Society, Swazi Bank, Swaziland Royal Insurance Company, African Alliance, Stanlib, Old Mutual, Select Financial Services, Leshego Financial Services, Fincorp, Swaziland Association of Savings and Credit Cooperatives, Junior Achievement, Swaziland College of Technology, University of Swaziland, Ngwane Park Youth Training Centre, Ngwane Teachers Training College, William Pitcher Teachers Training College, Limkokwing University, primary schools
INTRODUCTION During GMW 2017, the Micro Finance Unit of the Ministry of Finance of Swaziland partnered with the Central Bank and the Ministry of Education of Swaziland to conduct a nation-wide awareness raising campaign and engaged children and youth through various activities. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH High-level discussions were held on the need to teach children to save, culminating in the agreement on the importance of integrating financial education into the school curricula. These discussions were held during the official launch of GMW 2017, which was officially opened by the Minister of Education and the Governor of the Central Bank, on the 27th March 2017. One of the highlights of GMW 2017 in Swaziland was a financial literacy awareness session offered for children and the youth, where 84 primary and tertiary school children received a lecture on the role of the
Central Bank as a financial regulator. After the lecture, 16 primary school children and 5 tertiary students presented essays before the Governor of the Central Bank, Chief Executive Officers of Financial Institutions and Ministry of Education Officers on why it is important for children and young people to start saving from an early age, also recommending strategies to enable children and young people to save. The first prize for the primary category was won by Vulamasango Primary School and the Tertiary Category was won by the Ngwane Park Youth Skills Training Centre. Throughout the Week, young people were exposed through various media channels on the importance of starting saving from an early age and the need for the Ministry of Education to integrate social and financial education into the school curricula. In addition, University and college students, teachers and primary school children from 16 schools, along with officers from the Ministry of
Education, all had the opportunity to visit the Central Bank, Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Stock Exchange and Insurance Houses to learn about the role of these institutions in the national economy.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Throughout the GMW 2017, the Micro Finance Unit along with partners the Central Bank and the Ministry of Education reached 82 children and youth through visits to Banks, Non-Bank Financial Institutions and the Stock Exchange, as well as 10,150 young people through various presentations in schools. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Swaziland was recognized for being able to create extensive exposure for the topic of financial literacy in the country through the increased participation of schools and representatives from financial institutions and government authorities.
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| Global Money Week Award
Colombia | Americas & The Caribbean Lead organization: National Organizing Committee of Global Money Week Colombia Partners: Asobancaria, Central Bank of Colombia, Ministry of Education, Banca de las Oportunidades, Fundación PLAN, Stock Market Regulator, Fasecolda
INTRODUCTION According to the National Organizing Committee of Global Money Week Colombia, more than 430 activities were organized this year. The activities included plays, video screenings, forums, workshops, storytelling, games, painting, interactive exhibitions, bank visits, and various competitions. More than 150,000 children and youth were involved in the activities conducted by the schools, universities, mobile classrooms, headquarters of financial institutions and government entities throughout 26 Colombian departments. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH GMW 2017 in Colombia was coordinated by the Comité Organizador Global Money Week Colombia. This committee brings together public entities such as Banca de las Oportunidades and Banco de la República, the Ministry of National Education, and also private entities such as Fundación PLAN, the Regulator of the Stock Market, the 50
Federation of Colombian Insurers, and the Banking and Financial Entities Association of Colombia. All the activities were built with the aim of developing a positive attitude towards the proper use of resources. In addition, activities sought to strengthen the role of the economy and finances in the lives of children and youth and also to highlight the importance of positive saving habits. The synergy that exists around this theme allowed the committee to reach agreements on the theme (in line with CYFI guidelines), activities, logos, printed materials, digital activities and advertising strategy. They even created a small website to promote the theme in Colombia and to make available free materials for all types of entities or people who wanted to join in on the celebration: http://www. sabermassermas.com/gmwcolombia.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The committee reached over 150,000 children in Colombia by gathering
more than 220 organizations which were able to organize more than 430 activities. • Additionally, a few independent activities were organized. One of those was by Sparkassenstiftung Colombia that, together with Bancompartir, reached 1,500 children and youth located in different educational institutions through workshops in Bogota.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Colombia was recognized as it hosted a diverse set of activities this year, demonstrating the dedication and effort that makes GMW a successful event there year after year.
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Dominican Republic | Americas & The Caribbean Lead organization: Central Bank of the Dominican Republic Partners: Banco Central de la República Dominicana; Adopem; Ademi; Junior Achievement Dominica; Kachibona Academy; National Cooperative Credit Union
INTRODUCTION Different institutions in the Dominican Republic helped host GMW 2017. They collectively reached 9,300 children in promoting the development of economic and financial education, as well as financial inclusion at all social levels, in the Dominican Republic. During the week, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, together with various public and private institutions, associations and commercial banks, shared their projects and achievements at a GMW fair. Also, educational talks and events were carried out with visits to the Numismatic and Philatelic Museum. Within the framework of the activities, a workshop on economic and financial journalism was offered to journalists. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Institutions like Banco Ademi promoted financial education by offering workshops for children, youth and adults. Likewise, Adopem promoted the program of financial education which they developed focusing on entrepreneurship and
human development. The bank dedicated a special chapter to the financial education of children because they are future Dominican entrepreneurs. The workshops for young people from 14 to 18 years were themed “Secrets for Success, Entrepreneurship for Youth” and “The Importance of Saving”. Additionally, Adopem promoted the different products and services they offer, mainly MIA and EDUCA-T childrens’ accounts. During the visits, students and the public engaged in playful and dynamic activities that made financial education more engaging and enjoyable to learn. Lastly, Junior Achievement (JADOM) held a workshop for female entrepreneurs, several business simulation workshops, and the popular Young Banker competition. During GMW, JADOM encouraged partners to begin discussions about youth finance. Simultaneously, students began action campaigns at their schools encouraging their
student bodies to save money, take responsibility over their financial conduct, and to invest time in order to learn about important financial principles. Media partners where encouraged to share these activities.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The leading parties engaged over 200 organizations over the course of GMW. The various organizations arranged 96 activities in total, resulting in 9,300 children and youth being reached during GMW in Dominican Republic this year. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Dominican Republic was recognized as there was a strong centralized effort in combination with the participation of a multi-stakeholder network that ensured a great GMW in the country.
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Paraguay | Americas & The Caribbean Lead organization: Central Bank of Paraguay closing of the campaign took place in Asuncion, where talks were held on several topics: Personal Finance, Credit Cards, Consumer Protection, My Budget, Savings, Financial Decisions, Healthy Financial Habits, and Financial Concepts.
INTRODUCTION Governmental institutions, private sector institutions, and civil society organizations celebrated GMW 2017 in Paraguay by reaching over 33,500 children and youth. The opening of the week-long event was held at the Central Bank of Paraguay. About 200 children between 8 and 15 years of age from different schools in the country participated in the opening. Also attending the event were representatives of the organizations that supported and promoted GMW 2017. These organizations helped develop activities which were aimed at improving the understanding of the use of money by children and youth. Additionally, the Central Bank of Paraguay launched seven educational videos on this day and shared them on social media to increase their accessibility. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH To support this year’s GMW, 14 private organizations joined the Paraguayan Central Bank. Social media networks also played an important role during GMW 2017 in Paraguay; partnering organizations published their activities on their pages daily, and often gave advice for improving money management skills. Through social media, GMW 2017 in Paraguay was able to garner more interest from children and youth. The National Financial Education 52
Strategy carried out a National Campaign for Financial Education: “Más Vale Saber – Educación de Bolsillo.” Importantly, the Government declared, through a Presidential Decree, that financial education was an objective of national interest. Educational talks were organized in five cities. Officials from the Central Bank of Paraguay, the Ministry of Finance, the Technical Secretariat for Planning and Development, the Cooperative Institute, and the Secretariat for Consumer Protection, oversaw talks on topics such as credit and entrepreneurship. Approximately 1,000 people attended these talks. The
ACHIEVEMENTS • The Central Bank of Paraguay, with 130 different participating organization organized 418 activities and reached over 33,500 children and youth. • One of the more notable events was that many children and youth had the opportunity to visit and tour the Central Bank of Paraguay and the Museum of Numismatics. At the museum, participants learned about the history of money in Paraguay. They also participated in talks about the use of money, its history, and its importance. During the visit, they also had the opportunity to meet a board member from the Central Bank. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Paraguay was recognized for making an outstanding effort for GMW this year, both in terms of outreach and stakeholder involvement, setting a positive example for countries in the region to emulate.
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Bangladesh | Asia & The Pacific Lead organizations: Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank), Daffodil International University, JobsBD Partners: Ministry of Education, Office of the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (A2i), Ministry of Finance, ICT Ministry, Ministry of Labor, First Security Islami Bank Limited, British Council, HSBC Bank, Campus TV, Dhaka University, Dhaka Stock Exchange, DISS, American International University Bangladesh, BRAC University, DCL Mobile, D Engineers Club (Chittagong), World Youth Parliament (Barisal), Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, Start and Improve Your Business (an ILO backed organization for entrepreneurship development organization), Shimanto Bank, Southeast Bank Ltd., Biman Bangladesh, National Museum, Bangladesh Wage Board, LEADS, Bangladesh Skill Development Institute (BSDI), National Housing Investment and Finance. Renaissance Consultants Ltd., Daily Star, Daily Somokal, News 24, ETV, ATN, Shomoy TV, G TV, Channel 9, various universities and schools
INTRODUCTION Under the leadership of Daffodil International University, JobsBD and Bangladesh Bank (Central Bank), GMW was once again grandly celebrated throughout the country – with higher outreach and a wider audience that went beyond the capital of Dhaka, and with involvement from public, private, and civil society sectors. As noted by the lead organizers, involvement from various sectors has become more proactive as institutions, both large and small, voluntarily came forward to participate resulting in the largest GMW in Bangladesh over the past five years. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH As in previous years, diverse activities were carried out in Bangladesh, including workshops and sessions for children and youth, sessions and visits by bankers to schools, sharing sessions on how children could save better, essay writing competitions, a ringing of the bell ceremony at the stock exchange, video and selfie challenges, money museum visits, a multi-city youth entrepreneurship fair and other idea generating activities on how saving and earning could be further promoted for youth from the perspective of youth. A key issue that Bangladesh highlighted and observed was that most initiatives have stopped after GMW in previous years. Aside from the SchoolBanking initiative that the Bangladesh Bank is implementing to open bank accounts for children, stakeholders have identified that financial literacy remains to be a point to be addressed on an ongong basis. The organizers therefore leveraged GMW to facilitate a roundtable discussion with high-level
governmental bodies involved in financial education and inclusion, as well as representatives from the banking, civil society, and academic sectors. This resulted to an action plan within the year that includes: 1. Creation of a concept note on the need for improving the financial literacy of young people. 2. Designing of a multi-year and multi-stakeholder project plan. 3. Drafting the funding structure of the national initiative. 4. Developing a multi-tier strategy on delivery and modalities of the program. 5. Piloting the approach in Bangladesh. Finally, Bangladesh also organized a Grand Gathering with governmental delegates, bankers, entrepreneurs, schools, and student leaders, which was the official Global Closing Ceremony of GMW2017.
university, school, and civil society. • The country was able to reach more than 810,000 children directly and about 2,100,000 indirectly through nationwide media channels that hugely covered the GWM celebrations.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Bangladesh was recognized for quite a diverse range of activities, specifically highlighting their strong focus on youth. The judges found that the quality of activities in Bangladesh was very impressive due to their nature of continuing beyond GMW. It was also noted that Bangladesh demonstrated Global Money Week could be used as a platform to further sustainable financial inclusion and education initiatives for a country.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Bangladesh’s GMW celebrations engaged a wide variety of sectors from the governmental, banking, 53
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Bhutan | Asia & The Pacific Lead organization: Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (Central Bank of Bhutan) Partners: Ministry of Education, National Land Commission, Ministry of Agriculture and Forest, Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bank of Bhutan, Bhutan Development Bank, Bhutan National Bank, T-Bank, Druk PNB, Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan, Bhutan Insurance Ltd., National Pension and Provident Fund, Royal Securities Exchange of Bhutan, Rural Enterprise Development Corporation, Financial Institution Training Institute, Credit Information Bureau, Royal Tutorial Project, Royal Bhutan Army, Royal Bhutan Police, 13 business units, 4 media houses, 5 NGOs, and 25 schools and universities celebrated with Global Money Week 2017 demonstrating the connection between being financially and physically fitness.
INTRODUCTION With the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan at the core of the GMW celebrations, GMW2017 was a very large scale event in the country this year. The RMA and various stakeholders formed the Financial Inclusion and Literacy (FIL) Unit, which brings together diverse sectors to collectively spearhead financial inclusion and education policies and strategies. The national roll-out of GMW 2017 is a part of this unit. This led to more than 60 organizations participating in GMW 2017 in Bhutan, representing all sectors from public, private and civil society. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Gathering strong support from all sectors and at the grassroots and national level, financial inclusion and literacy have even been highlighted during His Majesty’s Address to the Nation, and the Kingdom’s 109th National Day. The launch event of GMW 2017 was graced by His Excellency Lyonpo Namgay Dorji (Honorable Finance Minister), Honorable Dasho Penjore (Governor of RMA of Bhutan), the Regional Coordinator of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), as well as 54
other distinguished guests. This launch event was covered by national media outlets and was communicated all throughout Bhutan. Highlights included the launch of Bhutan’s Financial Literacy website (www. rmafil.bt), the Bhutan Economic Forum for Innovative Transformation (BEFIT - www.befit.bt), and the FinSave Gift Cards (http://www.rmafil.bt/finsavegift-card/). In addition to the opening event, various activities were organized such as theatre programs on ‘‘Your money, financial crisis and lessons in your life” to creatively communicate financial lessons; thematic talks in schools, tertiary educational institutes, defense sectors, vocational institutes and monastic schools; youth field visit programs; airing of radio jingles on ‘promoting youth entrepreneurs.’ Rural savings accounts were also opened for disadvantaged students in Thimphu and Lhuntse, and financial literacy initiatives were delivered at Dagana, Punakha, Tsirang and Gelephu – ensuring better outreach throughout Bhutan. Interestingly, as Karate is a big part of Bhutanese childhood, National Karate Day was jointly
Furthermore, a financial literacy game was launched, entitled Ethics Banking, designed by an 11-year old girl from one of the local primary schools. In this game, children are rewarded for showing good ethics by performing well in the codes of conduct, ethics, and values at school (i.e. waste reduction, academics, reading, volunteerism, altruism, etc.). Teachers then act as bankers receiving deposits of each child’s achievements, recording these achievements in a child’s “ethics passbook”. The activity is now supported by RMA as a pilot and will be considered for a national roll-out if successful after a 1-year trial.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Engaging a wide variety of stakeholders, Bhutan reached 10,000 children directly through activities and about 20,000 indirectly through various national and regional media channels. This comprises almost 10 percent of the child population in the country. • This year’s GMW 2017 also grew exponentially as Bhutan secured involvement of more stakeholders compared to previous years where GMW was only spearheaded by the Central Bank. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Bhutan was recognized as it was very impressive to see the growth in national participation, outreach, and engagement with more stakeholders this year. Furthermore, a more innovative approach in teaching financial literacy such as the new Ethics Banking game is something that could be shared and re-applied by other countries as well.
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Mongolia | Asia & The Pacific Lead organizations: Bank of Mongolia (Central Bank), Mongolian Bankers Association Partners: Deposit Insurance Corporation, Knowledge Dissemination Center, Ministry of Finance, Financial Regulatory Commission, Mongolian Stock Exchange, Banking and Finance Academy, multiple banks organizing individual activities, and nationwide activities delivered to secondary schools and universities
INTRODUCTION Previously led only by the Mongolian Bankers Association, the GMW 2017 celebration in Mongolia saw an immense increase in involvement by all major governmental bodies involved in the financial education and inclusion of young people in the country. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH GMW 2017 was led, organized, and jointly endorsed by six institutions: Office of the President of Mongolia, Bank of Mongolia, Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports, Mongolian Bankers Association, Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Knowledge Dissemination Center (KDC). Extending beyond the main programs that happened between 27 March - 2 April, the national GMW campaign stretched from 13 March - 17 April! In addition to this being the longest, largest, and most multi-sectorial GMW campaign in Mongolia, the institutionalization of GMW in the country’s National Program for Financial Literacy has signaled a strong commitment from multiple stakeholders that GMW will be an annual event addressing financial education and inclusion of young Mongolians. Mongolia approached GMW through two main stream of activities: Stream 1: Through Mongolian Bankers Association (MBA) Memberorganized activities Since 2014, MBA has coordinated and encouraged members to organize GMW activities. With participation from the member banks, activities included: School visits to give talks about personal finance and & financial sector involvement; Facilitation of active and engaging activities such as debates, forums, and competitions; Visits to banks for secondary school students; Information Distribution through mass media channels through TV/radio shows, internet, etc.
Stream 2: Co-hosted events by Mongolian Presidential Office, the Bank of Mongolia, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports and the Mongolian Bankers Association, Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Knowledge Dissemination Center Nationwide campaigns were released by the leading organizations by distributing information as well as posters to secondary and high schools across the country. In addition, two competitions were launched throughout Mongolian schools under the GMW theme “Learn. Save. Earn.”: • A nationwide essay competition was held, engaging both students and teachers. • A nationwide freelance drawing/ poster competition for elementary and middle school students were also held. These activities were then culminated with an awards ceremony on the 14th of April at the Central Bank of Mongolia, presented by the President of Mongolia, alongside the Governor of the Bank of Mongolia, the CEO of Mongolian Bankers Association, Head of Savings Insurance Cooperation and Head of Education Delivery Center NGO.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Expanding the breadth of stakeholders in the country involved in GMW 2017 has been Mongolia’s greatest success this year. Not only did the Bank of Mongolia and the Mongolian Bankers Association involve more sectors in the celebration of Global Money Week in the country, they also secured a partnership with the Mongolian Presidential Office and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports. Beyond widening their stakeholder reach, Mongolia also increased its direct outreach to more than 50,000 children. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Mongolia was recognized as it shows that even with leadership coming from the banking sector, the growth and sustainability of celebrating and promoting financial education of youth could be ensured within the country. The banking association’s continued efforts have resulted to an institutionalized and continuous awareness of the importance of financial literacy for children and youth.
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Belgium | Europe & Central Asia Lead organization: Financial Services and Markets Authority Partners: De Tijd/L’Echo, Radio1/VRT, RTBF, Pensions Board, National Social Security Office, FOD Economy, FPS Finance, the Insurance Ombudsman, the Chancery of the Prime Minister, The National Bank of Belgium, Febelfin, Assuralia, The Credit and Indebtedness Observatory, the Support Centre for Debt mediation services for the Brussels Capital Region (a non-profit), Muntpunt, Arteveldehogeschool, Gezinsbond, Capitant, Cebud, BudgetInzicht, UCLeuven-Limburg, GAS Lux, Brocom
INTRODUCTION GMW 2017 was launched officially on Monday 27 March 2017 at 9:00 a.m. with the ringing of the bell at the Brussels Stock Exchange of Euronext, in the presence of HM Queen Mathilde of Belgium. All participating partners and media were present, and the results of a survey ‘To Save or Not to Save’ was presented. By means of this survey, Wikifin.be, in collaboration with the media, tried to make money matters the subject of an even wider conversation in the public discourse. The prizes won at the Wikifin@School Challenge were distributed to the winning classes, and this opening event also coincided with the third National Conference on Financial Education. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Wikifin.be/FSMA, De Tijd/L’Echo, Pensions Board, National Social Security Office, FOD Economy, FPS Finance, the National Bank of Belgium, Febelfin, Assuralia, the Credit and Indebtedness Observatory and the 56
Support Center for Debt Mediation Services for the Brussels Capital Region (a non-profit) gathered at the Brussels South Station, Antwerp Central Station and a shopping mall in Liège to provide information about money matters. More than 1,000 students (16 to 18-years-old) visited these info markets. Furthermore, a financial education truck crossed the entire country during GMW, stopping at various schools. During the visits, students had the opportunity to play the budget game budg€tPRET/Gère tes pépètes in the truck. The students also had the chance to leave messages in the chatterbox about money.
ACHIEVEMENTS • During GMW 2017, more than 2,500 classes of years three, four, five, and six throughout the country played an educational and fun game about budgeting. The game taught pupils how to handle money, manage a budget, discuss money challenges in
groups, and make choices together. Through this game, Wikifin.be supported teachers in bringing financial education into the classroom. In total, more than 100,000 children and youth were involved in activities throughout the week in Belgium.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Belgium was recognized for its new innovative activities such as the financial education fair and the financial education truck. The support from HM Queen Mathilde of Belgium is highly impressive, and the increase in collaboration, participation and stakeholder involvement is noteworthy.
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Hungary | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: Ministry of Human Capacities, Ministry for National Economy, Money Compass Foundation (founded by the Central Bank of Hungary), Hungarian Banking Association, Junior Achievement Hungary Partners: Financial institutions: Budapest Stock Exchange Ltd., MKB Bank Ltd., OTP Bank Plc., ERSTE Bank Hungary Ltd., K&H Group.,Raiffeisen Bank Ltd., UniCredit Bank Hungary Ltd., Budapest Bank Group, GRÁNIT Bank Ltd., FHB Group, Magyar Cetelem Bank Ltd. / BNP Paribas Personal Finance, MagNet Bank Ltd., CIB Group /Bank of Intesa Sanpaolo Group, Cofidis Bank Ltd., Fundamenta Ltd., Pioneer Investments; 68 corporate companies; University of Miskolc; primary schools, high schools, and the media
INTRODUCTION In 2017, Hungary celebrated its national money week for the first time within the framework – and in coordination with GMW 2017. The objective of Pénz7 was to encourage young people to handle their financial affairs more responsibly and to be more familiar with the way the economy and the financial world functions. The program was supported by ministries and financial market participants.
teaching materials were developed by teachers, with interactive methodological elements added for three age groups (grades 5-6, 7-8 and 9-11). The lesson plans and video clips developed during the preparation phase and the preparation session offered further aid to teachers and volunteers. The highlighted content of this year is the comparison of cash handling and the use of a bank account, as well as familiarizing the age group with the available facilities.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The subjects of the program were expanded by topics connected to entrepreneurship. In addition to smart banking which is the financial topic of 2017, entrepreneurial competence development and the experiencebased introduction to entrepreneurship was also emphasized in the week’s activities. Most of the activities of the program included a series of lessons about finance in numerous primary and secondary schools in Hungary. The
The opening ceremony was held at the Ministry for National Economy on 6 March 2017. Apart from the speeches delivered by the organizers, a performance by young students was also part of the program. At the same time of the opening event, lessons on finance and the economy were given across the country to improve students’ financial literacy. Moreover, numerous side-events were held, including an online stock exchange game that introduced
students to the secrets of the stock exchange. Organized by the PontVelem Kft, the finals of the BanVelem competition showed who will be awarded with the PénzOkos Cup in 2017. University of Miskolc also held an all-day professional program, as well as a conference to help highlight Pénz7.
ACHIEVEMENTS • More than 11,000 events were conducted throughout the week in Hungary. The events reached more than 166,000 children and youth in primary and secondary schools across the country. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Hungary was recognized for the involvement of various stakeholders to implement a wide range of activities throughout the country in a structured and comprehensive approach. The outreach specifically within schools was very well organized and particularly impressive. 57
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The Netherlands | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: Money Wise Platform, Ministry of Finance, Dutch Central Bank, Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
INTRODUCTION GMW 2017, partners of the Money Wise Platform organized activities for pupils in primary and secondary schools to learn about how to deal with money. Week van het Geld is an initiative of the Dutch platform ‘Wijzer in Geldzaken’ (the Money Wise Platform). During this week, the main focus of elementary schools across the Netherlands is about learning to handle money. By making children financially aware at an early age, a foundation is laying the groundwork for financial independence in adulthood. The 2017 Week van het Geld celebrations had a festive start in the Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam on the 27th of March. Sander Dekker, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Klaas Knot, President of The Dutch National Bank and Kajsa Ollongren, Deputy Mayor of the City of Amsterdam opened the Dutch Money Week together with 350 students from 7 primary schools and 100 teachers and financial professionals. After the opening, the pupils of 14 classes from 58
the 7 different schools received lessons from the top executives of the Dutch Banking Association, the Association of Insurers and the Dutch Central Bank. Furthermore, Nibud also organized a special workshop for parents.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH In order to stimulate the conversations at home, a special edition of the Dutch Donald Duck comic was made. All stories were about money and happiness. 700,000 copies were sent out to schools and organizations. Her Majesty Queen Máxima, honorary president of the Money Wise Platform also joined the celebrations in an event that was jointly organized between CYFI and the Money Wise Platform at the Visitors Center of the Dutch Central Bank in Amsterdam.
ACHIEVEMENTS • During the week, more than 5,500 lectures, activities and workshops on money management were given at primary schools in the Netherlands by staff members from, amongst others, banks, insurance companies and municipalities. • In addition, all primary schools and libraries, receive a special “Week van het geldkrant”– a financial education newspaper. More and more secondary schools are participating in this event every year.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Netherlands was recognized for the continuous increase in participation and outreach each year during GMW, with several unique and engaging activities for children and youth and impressive involvement of stakeholders within the country. Furthermore, Her Majesty Queen Another special event organized in the Máxima is the honorary chair of the Netherlands was a debate at a football Money Wise Platform and a supporter stadium in Groningen with more than of Global Money Week. 1,000 children in attendance. The theme of that event was on money and the primary question was, “Does money make you happy?”
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Sweden | Europe & Central Asia Lead organization: Finansinspektionen – Financial Services Authority of Sweden Partners: Finansinspektionen, Nasdaq, Kungliga Myntkabinettet, Sveriges Elevkårer, Unga Aktiesparare, Ung Ekonomi, Swedbank, Nordea, Ekonomipejl, Ung Privatekonomi, Härnösands gymnasium, Solna gymnasium, Hersby gymnasium, Jensen gymnasium Uppsala, Konsument Halmstad, Halmstad Stadsbibliotek, Europa Direkt Halland, Expressen/Dina pengar, SBAB, Ikano Bank, SEB, Länsförsäkringar, ICA Banken, Bankers’ Association, Gilla Din Ekonomi
INTRODUCTION Children and youth were reached through lectures, social media and the “Money Week Challenge,” the nationwide competition about personal finance and savings based on the theme “Learn. Save. Earn.” To participate in the competition, it was obligatory for the teacher of the participating class to book an inspirational lecture about personal finances by Ung Privatekonomi or Ung Ekonomi. The lecture was free of charge and so was entering the competition. Schools that participated in the competition worked on their contribution before GMW started and entered it through YouTube. The final of the competition was held in Stockholm with the eight finalist groups pitching their contributions. 100 students attended the final in Stockholm. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The winning class of the Money Week Challenge received a trophy and had their class photo published in Times Square in New York City. The competition was arranged by Finansinspektionen, Ung
Privatekonomi, Ung Ekonomi, Unga Aktiesparare, Sveriges Elevkårer, Nasdaq, and the Royal Coin Cabinett. Financial literacy awareness sessions were offered for children and youth in schools across Sweden. The lectures were arranged by the organizations Ung Privatekonomi, Ung Ekonomi (Swedbank), Ekonomismart and Ekonomipejl (Nordea). These high school students in Sweden have lectures about personal finance year-round. In addition, the Bankers’ Association, and economists from 8 banks, arranged a seminar for those who teach children about personal finance year-round.
ACHIEVEMENTS • A number of initiatives were made throughout GMW 2017, including Unga Aktiesparare who sent a podcast about savings that reached approximately 40,000 young Swedes. • In total, more than 300,000 people were reached through the Money Week in Sweden. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Sweden was recognized for the development of several innovative GMW ideas at the national scale, such as the YouTube challenge, in which the pictures of the winners were projected in Times Square in New York City.
Moreover, Expressen – one of the largest newspapers in Sweden – hosted a public chat online where questions about personal finances could be answered by eight different economists throughout the GMW 2017. Also, an economist from Swedbank appeared on both national television and national radio to talk about young people and personal finances. 59
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Ukraine | Europe & Central Asia Lead organizations: National Bank of Ukraine, USAID, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Finance, Banking University, Independent Association of Banks Partners: Institute of Modernization of Education in Ukraine, Deposit Guarantee Fund, Commercial Court, First Ukrainian International Bank, PrivatBank, Committee on Financial Policy and Banking, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Oshchadbank, Pireus Bank, Business Club Partner, Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, Trinity Seminary of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, various secondary schools For the first time, the Commercial Court joined GMW and invited students from Ukrainian universities for study visits. Also, Banking University and Business Club “Partner” organized a financial game “CASHFLOW” for young people in Kharkiv so that they could better understand how to invest, buy assets and to avoid potential losses. Trinity Seminary of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church also started a course on financial literacy for future priests during the week.
INTRODUCTION The National Bank of Ukraine, government ministries and Banking University, with the support and active participation of the USAID Ukraine Financial Sector Transformation Project, the Independent Association of the Banks of Ukraine and other stakeholders, united forces to coordinate the activities of the GMW 2017 campaign. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH During GMW 2017, the exhibition of the Money Museum of the National Bank of Ukraine was opened and featured lectures on different financial topics from specialists from the National Bank of Ukraine, USAID Ukraine Financial Sector Transformation Project, Independent Association of the Banks of Ukraine and Deposit Guarantee Fund were held for participants. Moreover, students of Banking University were not only participants of Global Money Week, but they also held lectures for school children and their parents about financial literacy across the country. Leading state and commercial banks also held lectures on different financial literacy and professional topics for students in different universities, as well as 60
invited school children for visits at the institutions’ branches. Some of the highlights of the GMW 2017 included: the grand opening ceremony of GMW on 28 March, where the National Bank of Ukraine and the USAID Ukraine Financial Sector Transformation Project presented the educational campaign “Hryvna is Our Symbol” and a photo project dedicated to the history of currency in Ukraine. Moreover, the former President of Ukraine (20052010), Head of the NBU (1993-2000), and the Chairman of the Committee on Financial Policy and Banking, twice participated in video conferences for students from different parts of Ukraine.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Throughout GMW 2017, the National Bank of Ukraine, USAID Ukraine, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ministry of Finance, Banking University, the Independent Association of the Banks of Ukraine, together with partners reached about 28,000 children and youth across the country. • In addition, more than 100,000 people were reached via the wide media and press campaign. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Ukraine was recognized for the wide range of stakeholders, both local and high-level, that came together for the first time to coordinate and implement their financial literacy awareness campaign.
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Egypt | Middle East & North Africa Lead organization: Egyptian Banking Institute INTRODUCTION During GMW 2017 in Egypt, financial literacy awareness sessions were delivered to children, youth and adults. The awareness sessions included sessions focused on saving, budgeting and entrepreneurship, reaching a total of 1.7 million children and youth. With a special focus on gender equality, this year’s GMW activities included the delivery of financial awareness sessions to women and young girls. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Building on its experience and extensive participation in GMW activities since 2013, the Shaping the Future Initiative, a financial literacy initiative of the Egyptian Banking Institute, shifted its strategy for GMW 2017. This year, the initiative adopted a more sustainable model regarding outreach numbers, impact of its activities, and stakeholders’ participation. This translated into a more focused delivery approach through capacity building of institutions to deliver awareness sessions throughout the year, thus widening the impact of the sessions to go past the GMW, increasing the return on investment and ensuring the sustainability of the activities is maximized. The participation of banks this year went beyond financial
contribution and bank visits, with several banks ready to introduce and offer youth friendly products and incorporating them in the GMW 2017 activities, e.g. awarding competition winners with prepaid and saving bank account cards instead of cash. Furthermore, several activities were organized in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The Egyptian Stock Exchange Simulation Game was organized across the 27 governorates including educational booths, financial competitions, and contests. A drawing on asphalt
activity with the logo of the EBI’s financial literacy initiative “Shaping the Future” was also organized, along with a radio competition titled “Grandma Hafiza” that was aired to a nationwide audience. Additionally, a short essay competition, as well as an academic research competition on saving, budgeting and entrepreneurship, took place with participation from the 27 governorates during the entire month of March.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The Egyptian Banking Institute managed to gather 650 organizations from the public and private sector, collectively arranging 16,500 activities. • Global Money Week was celebrated by 1,7 million children and youth throughout all of Egypt. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Egypt was recognized for its truly outstanding efforts this year. Through the activities, a huge percentage of the countries’ youth has been reached (6 percent). In addition, involvement of media outlets, via activities such as radio competitions, was achieved. The activities were diverse, covering a wide range of stakeholders, setting an example not only on a regional, but also on a global level.
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Libya | Middle East & North Africa Lead organization: Central Bank of Libya
INTRODUCTION Libya participated in GMW for the first time this year. Both the Central Bank and the Ministry of Education organized a wide variety of activities across the country, reaching staggering numbers of children and youth (approximately 50,000). AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The objective of GMW 2017 in Libya was to have young people understand the financial and banking sectors’ basic principles, how to manage personal savings and invest wise, improve the rates of financial inclusion and strengthening the financial, economic and social stability in the country. The goal was to create a community that is financially aware enough to contribute to the development of both the financial and economic sectors in the country. According to the Central Bank, it is important that children are guided in learning more about finance and 62
economics through different definitions that must be understood to be able to make wise financial decisions. As such, throughout the Week, children were taught to become familiar with concepts such as budgeting, loans, credit and debit card, taxes, investment and the stock market. Children were also taught to shop and spend their money wisely. In addition, they were taken to banks to learn how to manage their accounts and understand the various financial services. To complement this, children enjoyed financial education lessons in their schools. During all these activities, forums were created to give children the opportunity to ask questions in relation to finance. NGOs involved in the Week also gave lessons on how to open a bank accounts, what a savings account is and how to use the banks facilities. This involved children and young people in schools, civic clubs and
charitable institutions, in addition to people with special needs and orphans in foster care.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The Central Bank of Libya, in its first Global Money Week, managed to have 620 institutions organize a variety of activities to reach 50,000 young people in the country. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Libya was recognized for the immense success of its first time participating in the GMW celebrations, despite the difficulties the country is facing today.
Global Money Week Award |
Morroco | Middle East & North Africa Lead organization: Moroccan Foundation for Financial Education Partners: Morrocan Foundation for Financial Education (FMEF)
INTRODUCTION A high-level meeting, reaching 150,000 young people in total, was organized to kick off the celebrations of this year’s GMW in Morocco, organized by the FMEF. This meeting was an opportunity to present the results of the survey on the satisfaction of the previous editions, to reiterate the commitment of all stakeholders to the development of financial literacy of children and young people and to note all of the achievements of the FMEF for this target as part of the implementation of its national financial education strategy. In addition to stakeholders, children were invited to share their experience of the previous editions of Global Money Week during the kick-off meeting. CYFI, a privileged partner of the FMEF in this field, was also invited to present SchoolBank as part of this event. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Throughout Global Money Week 2017,
the FMEF, in collaboration with all stakeholders, children and young people through a rich program and several activities. For one week, several sessions to raise awareness on financial literacy were offered to children and young adults through visits to schools (primary schools, colleges, high schools and universities). In this context, all financial institutions met children and young people and opened the doors of their branches and agencies at the urban, peri-urban and rural levels. An ambitious program of visits was carefully established and confirmed by all of the partners during the preparation of this event. Bank agencies, insurance offices, branches of Bank Al Maghrib, Dar Assikah, the Money Museum, and the Casablanca Stock Exchange welcomed groups of children and youth for financial education sessions on a daily basis, following a pre-
established program and content from the dedicated guides. At the same time, daily seminars were held in high schools and at universities, with exchange forums programmed through social networks. Young adults also had the opportunity to visit to the Money Museum of the Bank Al-Maghrib.
ACHIEVEMENTS • FMEF organized almost 1,700 activities with over 6,500 parties (of which 5,400 were schools) throughout Morocco. Through this effort, 150,000 children and youth were reached. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Morocco was recognized this year for reaching impressive numbers of children throughout the whole country through an extensive and diverse range of activities.
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Palestine | Middle East & North Africa Lead organization: Palestine Monetary Authority
INTRODUCTION This year, the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) organized a wide variety of activities for Palestine youth during Global Money Week, reaching over 75,000 children and young people. A team was formed consisting of nearly 600 employees from Palestine Monetary Authority and banks, which visited 1,235 schools all around Palestine, lecturing about financial terms and banking services, and showing three banking and financial awareness movies throughout the Week. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH To kick-off the GMW 2017 celebrations this year, a press conference was held in a Hall at Ramallah, with participation of all stakeholders (Palestine Monetary Authority, Ministry of Education, Association of Banks, Palestine Deposit Insurance Corporation, Banks and UNRWA).
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During the week, 100,000 copies of a unified brochure that includes basic banking and financial information was distributed to students through bank branches. Additionally, pre and post questionnaires were distributed, at a sample of 2,000 students, in order to measure and assess knowledge enhancement and enrichment amongst school students.
with one of the banks launching an instant cash back campaign, for example, as a percentage from the saving amount.
Furthermore, 295 bank branches were decorated to attract the attention of children and youth, by means of posters, flags, and roll ups. In addition, one working hour allocated per day throughout the week to receive children, youth, and parents to educate them about the various banking operations and services.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Virtual bank branches were established in a large shopping mall. These branches included 15 main banking services, in which each bank of the fifteen banks that participated represented one of these 15 services. For example, a real ATM- machine was installed at the fair, where the children could test how to use a debit card. • In total, more than 75.000 young people in Palestine were reached by more than 1400 institutions that organized over 4400 activities.
Notably, for the first time, PMA dedicated the last day of GMW 2017 to be the “National Saving Day”, in which all banks were trying to encourage students to start saving on this day. Special products and campaigns were launched for National Saving Day,
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Palestine was recognized for its outstanding performance in Global Money Week this year, with high numbers of young people (approx. 10 of the youth population) participating in activities nationwide.
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❸ Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award GLOBAL FINALISTS Banco de Credito del Peru, Peru “Contigo en tus Finanzas en Aula” Banqer, New Zealand “Banqer” BBVA Bancomer, Mexico “Valores de Futuro” Financial Education Foundation – FEDUF, Italy “EconomiAscuola – EconomicSchool” Mobaderoon, Syria “FADA Program”, “The Life Street Program” & “Aflatoun and Aflateen Program” World Vision Armenia, Armenia “IMPAC/SKYE Clubs”
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Banco de Credito del Peru Program Name: “Contigo en tus Finanzas en Aula” | Country: Peru Partners: Ministry of Education, ESAN University, the Banking Superintendent, regional and local education authorities, Insurance and Pension Funds, other organizations
INTRODUCTION As part of its CSR strategy, the Banco de Credito de Peru (BCP) designs, funds and executes diverse initiatives focused on improving the quality of education in Peru, such as infrastructure projects, scholarship programs and financial literacy initiatives. The Contigo en tus Finanzas en Aula is a financial literacy program for high school students from public education institutions which use a student-centered methodology. The program combines all the components of Economic Citizenship and includes topics such as personal financial planning, saving and budgeting, credit services, the formal financial system, pension funds and insurance. Besides incorporating financial education into History, Geography and Economics courses, it also provides teacher training and certification, personalized visits and group counseling by program staff specialized in education. In addition, the program includes a formal savings component that involves opening collective savings accounts. Within the classrooms, representatives collect deposit vouchers and keep track of individual savings amounts. At the end of the year saving are tallied, teachers withdraw funds and students get back the amount they saved. 68
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The ultimate objective of the program is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to make good decisions, accomplish effective personal financial management and ensure the efficient use of limited resources. The program seeks to develop these soft skills and includes a differentiation between needs and wants, the definition of realistic short, medium and long term goals and the establishment of a life plan. An experiential game called “La Gran Aventura con Lucas” encourages students, supported by their teachers, to complete diverse assignments and win points that can later be exchanged for prizes. Assignments include the development of small enterprises and community projects as fundraising initiatives. The program leverages the advantages of a public private partnership to help teachers and students reach their learning goals through financial education. Education authorities and teachers see the program as an ally to achieve their goals. The program has a sustainable and scalable design, which incorporates mechanisms that allow a smooth transfer of resources and knowhow to public sector education authorities and that the transfer ensures that the program is adopted, scaled and given continuity.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The project has reached 50,000 children and youth aged 13-18. • More than 70 classrooms with an average of 30 students participated to the classroom saving account. • 2016 evaluation shows an average improvement in test scores of 24 per cent for teachers, 33 per cent for students in the 1st grade of secondary school, 28 per cent for students in the 2nd, 54 per cent for students in the 3rd, and 47 per cent for students in the 4th. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS “Contigo en tus Finanzas en Aula” is an impressive program insofar as it contains a strong element of teacher training and certification through lesson guides. Moreover, it successfully embeds financial education into the school curriculum, using a graduated content. The impressive outreach, also achieved thanks to the collaboration with the Ministry of Education, has great potential to scale up. Banco del Credito del Peru has also showed a strong commitment to evaluation, which is very important to achieve great results.
Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award |
Banqer Program Name: “Banqer” | Country: New Zealand Partners: New Zealand Government-owned Kiwibank, Insurance Council of New Zealand, KPMG NZ and the Young Enterprise Trust classroom behavior managing tool. The partnership with Kiwibank ensures that that the program remains free of charge so that as many students as possible can access Banqer without being reliant on public grants or subsidies. Banqer increases financial literacy and capability, ensuring that students have the best chance of making effective financial decisions and minimizing the likelihood of being misled financially in the future. Furthermore, Banqer staff delivers professional development to educators to enhance their skills in both the use of technology and financial literacy so that teachers may maximize the utility of the program in their classrooms.
INTRODUCTION Banqer, a social enterprise start-up, is a novel online mini virtual economy for classrooms where students can experience their entire financial lifetime in a year. Banqer both teaches and enables students to put financial literacy into practice. Within this safe environment, students are able to succeed, fail and learn to manage their own finances. Banqer is a simulated banking experience which includes operating bank accounts, earning interest, paying fees, and going into overdraft. The use of Banqer then facilitates economic activity in the classroom including employment, paying classroom expenses such as desk rent and operating businesses. Budgeting is essential for students, who get weekly income but also have to pay for expenses. Students can thus save up for larger items such as a deposit on a house. Modules include taxation, retirement savings, real estate, personal lending, insurance and real estate. With the real estate, students can get a mortgage, buy a house, have tenants and also pay for upkeep such as property tax and maintenance. In addition, students can resort to a dispute resolution mechanism and can open their own businesses in which they hire fellow students.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Banqer brings personal finance into a classroom replicating how the real economy permeates people’s lives, allowing learning outcomes to permeate throughout the classroom experience. Students get to experience what it is like to manage their own personal finances through a “learning by doing” approach. Students get exposure to more complex financial transactions which they would not have otherwise encountered until later in life when faced with the real thing for the first time. This helps students to develop personally and can also be used as a
ACHIEVEMENTS • The project has reached 35,000 children. • The training for teachers makes them feel more confident and empowered to deliver financial education to their students. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Banqer is very innovative in its way of developing education contents. On a long term perspective, this program could have a worldwide impact. Indeed, the first steps towards a wider horizon for Banqer have been recently showed by its expansion to Australia.
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BVA Bancomer Program Name: “Valores de Futuro” | Country: Mexico Partners: The National Entrepreneur Institute (INADEM), The Secretariat of Economy (SE), The National Commission for the Defense of Users of Financial Institutions (Condusef), KidZania, Interactive Museum for Economics (MIDE), Under-15 & Under-13 Boys’ National Football Team, OECD, IDB, Institute for Financial Literacy participants in vulnerable situations have the option to access real debit accounts where they receive their scholarships, in addition to the personal coaching of a banker and their sponsor. The creativity to design and develop the didactic materials and activities allows children to have a significant and unique learning experience.
INTRODUCTION The BBVA Bancomer financial education program was created in 2008 with the objective of generating responsible financial inclusion and better banking practices that promote a healthier and more dynamic financial system. The program seeks to make children and youth consistent savers, responsible debtors, and prudent investors so that they may build a prosperous economic future. Therefore, BBVA Bancomer has developed different educational and playful strategies. It consists of 67 modules, developed by an interdisciplinary team of experts, which focus on six financial education themes: the representation of money, scale of monetary values, exchange, time management, work, and financial responsibility. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH In “Valores de Futuro”, children learn in a playful context how to solve conflicts by themselves, take responsibility and develop skills required for leadership and teamwork. The facilitators help them to develop personal and interpersonal skills throughout the activities. The content is adapted to different learning styles, sociocultural differences and audience features, ensuring that there are equal opportunities for students to learn. During the role-playing 70
situations, children can choose, apply for, and perform a job that helps them to build self-esteem and confidence, value work and money, and develop necessary skills for employment, such as teamwork, creativity preparation and responsibility. They learn how to apply for a job on one hand, and how to develop a business plan on the other. In KidZania (scale city) adaptations, participants are encouraged to open a bank account and use a Mockup Debit Card, where they can receive their salary, save money, use it to pay for products and services in other places, and get access to other financial products. Furthermore, BBVA Bancomer’s
ACHIEVEMENTS • Since 2012, the program has reached 1,367,488 children and youth from 4 to 16 years of age though more than 1,906,502 formative activities in 22 rural and urban locations around the country. • Longitudinal impact assessments are currently under development and results are expected by the end of this year. • BBVA Bancomer optimized financial education resources reducing their programming costs by 5%. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS “Valores de Futuro’s” outreach is quite impressive. Furthermore, both children in rural and urban areas have been reached, providing an added value to the initiative. In addition, the program covers all aspects of the model of Economic Citizenship in a structured and sustainable way.
Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award |
Financial Education Foundation - FEDUF Program Name: “EconomiAscuola - EconomicSchool” | Country: Italy Partners: Bank of Italy, INVALSI, Consob, the Revenue Agency, 9 local school offices and municipalities, 15 Consumers Associations, University networks (ADEIMF) and Global Thinking Foundation EconomiAscuola is a free program free based on a digital and interactive approach, following the ICT pedagogy. It employs an “easy to use” knowledge sharing approach to make economics topics familiar. The project continues to find ways to pool and combine programs and tools developed by different players, while respecting their own differences.
INTRODUCTION FEDUF is a non-profit organization which seeks to promote financial education and economic citizenship in Italy through the design and implementation of programs and tools both for children and adults. EconomiAscuola is a program differentiated according to the age target which includes financial education activities and content. Topics for primary schools include: currency, jobs and earning, money flows, ordinary/ extra-ordinary/ necessary/ unnecessary spending, savings, banking and payment systems, borrowing and interest rates, sustainable economy and development. Topics for secondary schools in the program comprise personal and family financial planning, money flows, income, debt and inflation, savings and investments, banking and payment systems, financial services providers, financial markets, globalization and ethical finance. It also encompasses active citizenship elements inasmuch as it covers topics such as living in the community, consumption, saving resources to take care of the planet and human beings, ecological footprint, food and health. Entrepreneurship and business plans, welfare, over indebtedness, economic legality, creation of curriculum vitae, “clear work” contracts, pensions, choice between employees and self-employers and how to start an
enterprise are all part of the program for secondary school students. EconomiAscuola stimulates students to engage in market analysis and to search for local case studies. As a result, students often get in touch with local entrepreneurs.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH FEDUF is the only organization in Italy fully dedicated to spread financial education. It promotes cooperation between private and public bodies in order to facilitate experience sharing and optimize resources. Its working model is based on a strict collaboration between public and private agencies, including the Bank of Italy, Consob, the Ministry of Education, Regions and Municipal authorities, school offices and consumer associations.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The program has reached 46,350 children and youth. • Questionnaires developed together with INVALSI (National Institute for the Evaluation of the School System) showed an increase in students’ knowledge and a general improvement in their relationship with money, as well as a positive effect in terms of awareness on how to save money. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The program has a good coverage of Economic Citizenship Education components and has achieved an impressive level of outreach in Italy. The project combines a good knowledge sharing approach, a collaborative network of banks, schools and government agencies and a diverse set of dissemination channels for the learning materials.
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Mobaderoon Program Name: “FADA program, The Life Street Program, Aflatoun and Aflateen Program” | Country: Syria Partners: Local, national and international organizations, relief organizations community, participate in existing enterprises, or start their own entrepreneurial ventures. Every beneficiary of Mobaderoon’s workshops has the opportunity to micro fund his/her social or financial initiatives. Mobaderoon’s programs are being continuously evaluated and modified according to the needs of the communities through periodical meetings. Another strategy Mobaderoon uses is to train and empower trainers of other organizations with its programs to increase the replicability of the project throughout the country.
INTRODUCTION Mobaderoon is a Syrian nongovernmental organization working on promoting active citizenship and youth development, as well as a network of activists contributing to the building of local social initiatives connected on a national level and sharing their resources and experiences. Mobaderoon seeks to build trust and sustain understanding between the different communities inside Syria, by working according to a set of values: namely diversity, equal opportunities, dialogue, acceptance, sharing resources, non-violence and peace. Within Mobaredoon’s programs, children are encouraged to practice what they have learnt by participating in leading social and financial activities, such as organizing social campaigns, developing savings schemes, social and financial initiatives, and launching microfinance institutions. 72
The Life Street program was designed for children in the streets, to have a better chance for planning their future and acting as positive change agents for themselves and in their communities. It addresses life skills, basic illiteracy eradication, selfprotection, and social values. The FADA Program enhances the values format of the initiator starting from self, then belonging to a social environment and its institutions as a citizen with rights and duties, and finally through marketing and practice of citizenship concepts, community leadership and peace-building. It believes in the ability of every entrepreneur to innovate and interact with everyone for the purpose of improving the quality of life for everyone in the community.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Mobaderoon’s programs are free and open to anyone. All programs motivate youth to take the lead in their
ACHIEVEMENTS • The programs have reached 3,943 children and youth. However, overall Mobaderoon managed to reach out to 11,241 children and teenagers who implemented social and financial projects and initiatives through social clubs. • About 1,000 children have saved money in 2016 with a range between 500 and 3,000 Syrian Pounds per month. • Intrac International’s evaluation report on Mobaderoon’s work shows that programs are perfectly suiting the needs of the communities and that can be confirmed by the increasing number of the participants, the huge number of small projects and initiatives supported by Mobaderoon, and also by the huge number of partners supporting Mobaderoon and asking for its programs. • The organization was awarded the Livia Foundation Award 2014 for working with a peaceful approach in a conflict affected area. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The organization shows a great commitment to promote financial education in a country that has been facing extremely difficult circumstances such as a civil war. In addition, through its financial and social activities Mobaredoon’s program may also play a role in the achievement of a more peaceful society.
Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) Award |
World Vision Armenia Program Name: “IMPAC/SKYE Clubs” | Country: Armenia Partners: Organizations helping refugees, schools, churches, local businesses, cultural houses
INTRODUCTION World Vision is a Christian, childfocused and community-based organization, dedicated to working with children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. More recently, the projects have transitioned from meeting the demands of crisis situations to supporting and promoting the positive development of communities. Nowadays, WV Armenia programming focuses mainly on children’s health, development and protection, youth issues and economic development, serving more than 250 communities. WV Armenia works directly with the communities, with 14 Area Programs currently active in. IMPACT/SKYE incorporates a holistic approach to developing knowledge, skills, and values to address the livelihood needs and aspirations of young people while also addressing critical community challenges, using a combination of service-learning and experiential education which takes place in clubs. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The bedrocks of IMPACT/SKYE sustainability are its volunteer base, the ease of using the materials, low costs of implementation and strategic partnerships. All the club leaders are volunteers with a desire for selfdevelopment and making their communities stronger. It is the young club members who identify community issues, brainstorm on the solutions, and mobilize the community for a common cause. By doing so, they reinstate the ownership towards their community. Working in the field on real life problems, young people acknowledge the importance of teamwork, partnership, effective communication and develop social values such as courage, responsibility and compassion. Regarding financial education, trained volunteer leaders guide the clubs and deliver the sessions which include topics such as: Monitoring the Flow of Money, Constructing a Budget, Saving Services and Financial Institutions, Loan Management, Commitment and other topics on Financial
Responsibility. Topical modules vary in complexity, but challenge club members to develop essential competencies. The curriculum was designed on the premise that club members will be interested in opening social businesses in their communities or be competitive in a labor market. As one of the four learning areas, modules on social entrepreneurship guide club members to develop and run businesses with minor financial input. Clubs start with identifying market needs, whether in rural or urban contexts, while developing a business plan alongside the mentorship of a local social entrepreneur. Partners’ facilities host all club meetings, which are open to everyone. Additionally, active youth in the community make club recruitments among their friends and classmates.
employability had a 9.8% increase in knowledge and 10,1% in behaviors. Finally, social entrepreneurship raised by 13,2% in knowledge and 13% in behaviors.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS World Vision Armenia’s program is highly impressive, especially for what concerns its outreach and the topics covered. Furthermore, the IMPAC/ SKYE clubs are all interestingly and successfully designed from childcentred perspective. The clubs’ cost effectiveness and sustainability also contribute to the great results achieved.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The clubs have reached 1,300,100 young people. • The preliminary results of the evidence-building plan show the following increases among young people within a year in the following learning areas: active citizenship experienced a 12% increase in knowledge and 16.3% in behaviors; leadership increased by 13,6% in knowledge and 14,4% in behaviors; 73
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❹ Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award GLOBAL FINALISTS Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia “School Banking Project” and “Youthsaver Account” Diamond Bank Plc, Nigeria “Diamond Cool-Teens” Finance Trust Bank Limited, Uganda “Girl’s Choice Savings Account”, “Teen Classic Savings Account” and “Trust Junior Savers Account” JSC Bank of Georgia, Georgia “sCool Card” Kerala Gramin Bank, India “Junior Savings Account” National Savings & Credit Bank, Zambia “Girls Dream Account”, “YAPASA Youth Empowerment Programme” and “Minor Savings Product”
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Commonwealth Bank of Australia Program Name: “School Banking Project and YouthSaver Account” | Country: Australia Partners: Staff Community Fund, Karrikins Group, behavior change experts, schools and volunteers
INTRODUCTION The Commonwealth Bank is the leading bank in the country. The School Banking project is run by participating primary schools and is currently present in half of all Australian primary schools. It encourages children to regularly deposit money into their YouthSaver account and earn silver Dollarmites tokens, which can then be redeemed through an exciting rewards program. The YouthSaver product is a tailored savings account specifically designed to teach and reward children for regular savings. Teenagers 14 years and over can apply by themselves by dropping into a branch. A parent/ guardian is required to open an account on the child’s behalf if under 14 years of age. By making one deposit of any amount and no withdrawals each calendar month, the account will earn bonus interest. There are no monthly account fees and no withdrawal fees. In addition, participating schools receive 5% of every individual deposit made at school (up to $10), along with other benefits.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The Commonwealth Bank has proven its commitment to children and youth over many years with an extensive network of schools taking part in the 76
SchoolBanking initiative. This network has been built up over 85 years, engaging children in learning important money skills. The YouthSaver product encourages savings amongst youth through a reward program as they save. In addition, the School Banking program offers free financial education for children. This program is available to all primary schools nationwide, regardless of location or commercial banking arrangements. Both School Banking and Start Smart (a free financial education program) are delivered nationwide. Between 15% and 20 percent of School Banking and Start Smart customers are in low socio-economic areas. Commonwealth Bank respects children and the laws that protect them. Child serving employees and bank representatives all undergo “Working with Children” police checks and laws relating to parental/ guardian consent are adhered to. School Banking Specialists are connected with Co-ordinators (volunteers who run the program in schools) to monitor on-the-ground satisfaction. Two annual Customer Experience Surveys are run across all participating School Banking schools each year to get feedback on all aspects of the program.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The Commonwealth Bank has reached 1,600,000 children through its YouthSaver program and 330,000 through its School Banking program respectively. Its StartSmart financial education program is one of the largest of its kind in the world. • In 2016 Commonwealth Bank launched a pilot program to test a new approach to financial education with a virtual reality headset and storybook to teach kids about money. The trial was so successful that Commonwealth Bank is rolling the program out to all Grade 1 and 2 students who participate in StartSmart in 2017. • The Commonwealth Bank’s commitment to innovation has also included a significant project to reimagine School Banking for the digital age with the results due to be launched shortly. The evaluations of StartSmart consistently show that students have high levels of satisfaction with the program and find it relevant and valuable. In addition, follow up surveys find evidence that students do indeed apply something they learnt in the workshop. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The product has a very well balanced profile on all dimensions. It shows a strong and innovative commitment to financial education, and provides tangible rewards and benefits to savers. Moreover, it was able to achieve a high participation rate and, more importantly, high satisfaction levels, which are illustrated by active monitoring activities. Finally, Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a long-standing history of promoting youth financial education in Australia. Its wealth of experience could serve as a role model for other institutions.
Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award |
Diamond Bank Plc Product Name: “Diamond Cool-Teens” | Country: Nigeria Partners: Women’s World Banking, Mindsmith Consult, CBN & Junior Achievement Nigeria, Code Camp Africa, Helena Frey, Gr8jobsng, JOBRED, strategic partnerships with 44 schools Card designs. The Diamond Bank Plc also offers non-financial services, such as access to financial education tools and games via newsletters, access to essay competitions and annual contests, and access to “Teens Week Fridays” when children visit the banking hall. During the World Savings Day, Diamond Bank adopts a minimum of two public schools in distant communities across the six geo-political zones and use radio, the more prevalent media channel in the north of the country, to reach out to the school students.
INTRODUCTION Diamond Bank Plc is Nigeria’s fastest growing retail bank. Through innovation and technology, Diamond Bank enhances customer experiences and financial inclusion (called ‘Beyond Banking’) across retail, business and corporate banking segments. Its people, community and physical banking environment are the core constituents of its value system. Internally, the core value drivers of the Bank are embedded in the acronym I-CLAP, which stands for Integrity, Competence, Leadership, Accountability and Passion. The Diamond Cool-Teens product offers youth over 13 years old access to a bank account that requires a low minimum opening balance of N500. Diamond runs a multi-channel acquisition. Accounts are acquired via walk-ins at branches, Direct Sales Agents, online, through referrals and at schools. A major pipeline into the proposition includes the thirteen year olds from the Diamond Future account (for zero to 12 year olds). Upon attaining 13 years, notifications are sent to parents who visit the branches with their minors for a customer information update and selection of debit card type which is free. The Diamond Cool-Teens account is part of a broader youth proposition, which includes Diamond Future, a parentcontrolled account, and Diamond
SWAG, an account for youth who are 18+ years. This approach ensures long-term sustainability by ensuring smooth migration within and beyond the proposition as youth grow through products.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The Diamond Cool-Teens offers a free debit card in a teen’s name. The teens have control of their transactions on their debit card subject to the daily limit set by their parents or guardians. The parent or guardian can monitor teens’ account transactions and contribute to teens’ saving goals. Youth over 17 years old can own and operate the account independently. Moreover, the teens can deposit funds into their account without a parent or guardian and have the opportunity to choose between two trendy Debit
ACHIEVEMENTS • The Diamond Bank Plc has achieved a high rate in acquisition of 37,000 teens and 341,111 students members accounts in less than three years. • In 2016, 3,000 students participated in the various education programs of the Diamond Bank Plc. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The strategic focus and investment thus far in the development of the youth program has been commendable. The product was deliberately designed to be youth and girl-friendly and to drive inclusion and engagement (low opening balance, free debit cards, supporting financial capabilities, and training bank personnel on youth banking). The non-financial services component with financial literacy, essay contests, discounts and sponsorship activities has also helped to cater to the financial needs of young Nigerians.
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Finance Trust Bank Limited Product Name: “Girl’s Choice Savings Account – Teen Classic Savings Account – Trust Junior Savers Account” | Country: Uganda Partners: Non-governmental and community-based organizations hygiene and many other life skills. The Trust Junior Savers Account enables parents/guardians to save for their children’s needs and teaches them the benefits of early savings. Some of its key features include attractive interest rates, affordable account opening and minimum balances, no ledger fees or transaction charges. Children have access to their accounts whenever they need to make deposits or withdrawals at any Finance Trust branch.
INTRODUCTION Finance Trust Bank Limited (Finance Trust) offers three different products that target children and youth: Girl’s Choice Savings Account, Teen Classic Savings Account and Trust Junior Savers Account. The Girl’s Choice Savings Account targets in and out of school girls aged 10 to 19, whereas the Teen Classic Savings Account is designed for 12 to 17 year old. The Trust Junior Savers Account is an affordable and secure account that enables parents to save for their children’s needs and teach them the benefits of early savings. When the child turns 18, the account is converted to Trust Savers Account Both Girl’s Choice Savings Account and Teen Classic Savings Account have no bank fees, offer interest, and have a low minimum deposit. When withdrawing money, a signature from a financial mentor is required. The Teen Classic Savings Account allows teenagers to deposit extra money whenever they can and save for their future whereas the Girl’s Choice Savings Account offers financial literacy education and provides training in sanitation, personal 78
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The products are offered to all children regardless of their race, religion or beliefs and distinctly try to reach young clients in rural areas. Finance Trust runs special contest where outstanding clients are sponsored to attend youth camps and leadership conferences such as the Girls Arise Conference organized by the Uganda Women’s Network. In addition, the Finance Trust has a team of direct sales officers that move out to rural areas offering financial literacy and opening youth accounts. 80 percent of its network branches are located in upcountry/rural areas. To evaluate performance, the Bank carries out surveys and focus group discussions to obtain feedback on services offered. In addition, the Bank performs social performance monitoring that helps measure the impact of its operations and services offered on the social welfare of the children and the youth served. As for banking innovations, Finance Trust has enabled easier access to financial services for its youth segment through use of mobile account opening, where account opening is completed in the field using mobile handsets. This has given the bank a competitive advantage with instant account opening on site as compared to other banks where the process takes over 48 hours to be completed. In addition, the Finance Trust uses a mobile van that helps to collect savings for the youth on specific days, thereby allowing them
to access a personalized service agent in the remote communities where they are located.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Finance Trust has reached 13,796 girls through its Girl’s Choice Savings Accounts, 9,296 youth through its Teen Classic Savings Accounts and 2,925 children through its Trust Junior Savers Accounts. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The products are targeting youth in general, but also include a specific focus on vulnerable groups (in this case, girls). Moreover, parents have the possibility to save for their children’s futures. In regards to outreach, both rural and urban areas are covered, this way making the products more widespread throughout the country. The Bank has demonstrated strong alliances with development partners, civil society and government in ensuring financial inclusion, education and livelihood enhancement for the youth segment.
Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award |
JSC Bank of Georgia Product Name: “sCool Card” | Country: Georgia Partners: The Bank of Georgia University, the Ministry of Education and Science by using questionnaires designed in collaboration with CYFI and the National Bank of Georgia.
INTRODUCTION JSC Bank of Georgia (BOG) is the leading Georgian bank that offers a broad range of retail banking, corporate banking and investment management services. BOG served approximately 2 million client accounts through the largest distribution networks in Georgia, with 266 branches, the largest ATM network, comprising 746 ATMs, 2,589 Express pay (self-service) terminals, a remote banking platform and a modern call center. It offers sCool cards that are free of charge to all public and private school students above 6 years old. With the sCool Card, children can save money on their account by using an electronic wallet and pay for lunch at school canteens. BOG also offers free trainings at sCool Card business school, and discounts by paying with sCool cards at bookshops and entertainment centres. School attendance is also tracked using the sCool Card.
children learn to save and use banking products, and can make use of mobile and internet banking. In its outreach activities, BOG uses flyers, posters and presentations, while organizing meetings with students, parents, and teachers at schools. Also, BOG uses its websites, such as “scoolcard.ge”, “bog.ge” as well as banners, TV adds, and sms messages to promote the product. It has expanded its geographical reach and already offers the sCool Card in rural areas. The evaluation of the educational component of sCool Card is conducted
ACHIEVEMENTS • Through its program, BOG has reached 110,000 children. • At present, almost 70 percent of schoolchildren in Tbilisi use the sCool Card. • The pilot training programs offered by the free sCool Card business school have been successfully completed at 10 public and private schools involving 175 students. • The representatives of the bank held presentations for parents and teachers at a special school for partially deaf children. As a result, 40 percent of these children have already recieved a sCool Card. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The program is very broad and highly innovative. The sCool Card has indeed a very wide range of uses and benefits, empowering children and youth in their financial lives. Moreover, the program was able to reach a great number of youth, especially in Tbilisi. This helps children get accustomed to a financial culture and teaches them to save money and to use banking products.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The sCool Cards give control to children and reward them with bonus points as they save. The children make transactions themselves and can always check their account, providing them with a first-hand experience in financial culture. What’s more, 79
| Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award
Kerala Gramin Bank Product Name: “Junior Savings Account” | Country: India Partners: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Mr. Gopinath Muthukad and Rajagiri Outreach
INTRODUCTION Kerala Gramin Bank is a regulated financial institution in Kerala with 602 branches. This is the largest Regional Rural Bank in India in terms of total business. Most of its clients are agriculturists and small & medium entrepreneurs. Children aged 10 and above can open and operate Junior Savings Accounts independently. The documents required for opening the accounts are a photograph & a proof of identity of the child and a declaration from one of the parents. Junior Savings Account holders are eligible for Junior Debit Cards (JDC). Children can use this card for withdrawing cash from their account through ATMs at a daily withdrawal limit of INR 5000 ($75 USD). The card can also be used at remote of Sale (POS) and online transactions up to INR 2000 per day. The account is linked with the mobile number of a parent, who receives SMS alerts of every transaction made on the account. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The Junior Savings Account is designed to encourage children to save through incentives such as eligibility for free accidental insurance and preferential educational loans to eventually pursue higher studies. Through the program, Kerala Gramin Bank provides financial literacy clubs where children can meet frequently and exchange their ideas. It has also developed an app (“Little KGB”) for teaching children the basics of banking. By using the app, children can check their account balance and generate mini statements. Under its novel FI@School program, each branch ties up with at least one school in the locality for financial inclusion. Students are being trained by seasoned bankers. After the trainings, camps are arranged at schools to open accounts. Custom-made financial literacy booklets are also distributed to the participants. The Bank observes that once a child is guided towards banking and savings, 80
the child will definitely plan for his/her future.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Through the Junior Savings Account, Kerala Gramin Bank has reached 309,531 children. • Being a socially committed bank, it has a strong presence in rural areas and has devised a novel project to reach out to one of the most neglected sections of the society: the children. • The financial literacy program for school children “FI@School” is offered across 602 branches. Up until now, the Bank has
already reached out to over 50,000 children and the program is still growing.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The product gives significant control to children and youth. Furthermore, it has been able to reach a great number of people. Kerala Gramin Bank has demonstrated a commitment and dedication towards grooming a financially literate and financially included generation.
Child & Youth Friendly Banking Award |
National Savings & Credit Bank Product Name: “Girls Dream Account & YAPASA Youth Empowerment Programme & Minor Savings Product” | Country: Zambia Partners: The International Labour Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, Palabana fisheries, Vyazala crops, Population Council channels are also used, to effectively communicate to children and adolescents.
INTRODUCTION National Savings and Credit Bank (NSCB) is a government bank with a core mandate of providing reasonably priced financial services to low income populations. The Bank’s mandate is to increase financial inclusion by banking the unbanked. The Bank currently has in place well designed savings and credit products that are child focused and youth friendly. These interventions have produced various impacts such as an improvement in the culture of savings, improvements in the loan repayment culture, a financially educated rural and youth population resulting in improved financial acumen along with reduced vulnerability and increased incomes. The products offered to children and youth include: • The Girls Dream Account, which is offered to vulnerable girls aged 10 to 19 years. Adolescents receive financial education and are encouraged to save. • The YAPASA Youth Empowerment Programme, which is offered to 16-35 year olds. It is a tailored microfinance product for youth involved in agriculture in both rural and urban Zambia. • The Minor Savings Product, which is offered to children under 16 years of
age. The product allows parents/ guardians to open an account on behalf of their child and minors are allowed to deposit money into their accounts.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Through the three different programs, the Bank facilitates financial access to children, girls and young farmers. Young people are also awarded on the World Savings Day based on the frequency of usage, amount saved and consistency in making savings. Piggy bank and coin competitions are also organized in schools to encourage children to save. The Bank uses schools and community centers to reach out to young clients through financial education campaigns, educating youth and their parents/ guardians on various financial issues. In addition, the Bank carries out visitations to project areas to interact directly with children and their parents or guardians. The Bank has set up a wide network of branches in rural areas, with a large number of agencies and remote Points of Sale available.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The National Savings and Credit Bank has reached a total of 2550 children and youth through its three different programs. • Natsave (Girls Dream Account) partnered with the Population Council and implemented the AGEP program which targeted about 10,000 vulnerable girls with the goal to help them avoid early marriage, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy. Furthermore, the program provided child friendly savings products to over 2,000 adolescent girls who also received training in financial literacy. This product received the best innovation award by the Central Bank of Zambia during the 2016 Financial Literacy Week Awards. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS NSCB has embarked on strategies to ensure constant growth, improved market position, innovation, effective management and staff skills development because it feels these are key in capturing more youth and adolescents in the future.
NSCB produces child friendly signage and branded materials such as calendars, brochure, leaflets and Magazines. Various promotional 81
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❺ Outstanding Youth Economic Citizenship Award GLOBAL FINALISTS Haris Murati, Montenegro “Vrata Mladih” Nikhiya Shamsher, India “knicnacs.com” Theodora Mihaela Cleja, Romania “Minimalist Drawing Competition” Victoria Yetunde Akinfolarin, Nigeria “Bizkidz Board game” Zhu Hui Yi, China “ 21 Day Challenge to Record Money”
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Haris Murati Program Name: Vrata Mladih | Country: Montenegro | Age: 18 Partners: Haris Murati, Ensar Dedeic, Dino Colovic, Amar Bralic, Denis Fetahovic, Zijad Kurpejovic, University Donja Gorica, local government and local business centers
INTRODUCTION Mr. Murati initiated the Vrata Mladih program in 2012, introducing primary and secondary school children to entrepreneurship. The program uses workshops, covering topics such as business plans, finance, innovation and forming virtual enterprises. The main goal is to equip students with the necessary knowledge to help them shape their future and overcome economic challenges. Through this project, they raise awareness amongst students about social entrepreneurship. Moreover, the program includes an event named Global Week of Entrepreneurship, where students compete to create the best business idea, company logo, business plan and presentation. After the competition, an entrepreneurial fair is organized locally with the money raised being donated to charity. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Within the program, students engage in various group activities such as brainstorming, analytic techniques and mind mapping. Divided into 84
groups, students begin creating enterprises by completing business plans. Students form contacts, define their products, set retail prices, analyze the market through polls, recognize competition and determine budgets for the next 12 months of business. After those steps, students design the company’s logo and the business presentation. All the students can participate in the project, as well as students with special needs and those coming from rural and low-income areas. The project plans to expand its outreach and cooperation with other young local entrepreneurs in the near future.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Vrata Mladih has reached 700 children and youth between the ages of 13 and 18. • Dozens of students from this project won various prizes both at the national and international levels. • On 10 May, 2013, students participated in the Entrepreneurship Fair in Berane, achieving outstanding results. • The company “Green and Clean”
won third place in the category “The best business plan” and the company “Lumiere” won first place. • Approximately 80 students from the team’s school successfully completed the school of entrepreneurship and innovation for young people at the University of Donja Gorica. • In 2013, the “underground containers” by Semra Šutkovićwas purchased by the company “Goranovi.”
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The Vrata Mladih program is a pioneering achievement for Montenegro. It seems to have achieved good results for what concerns the promotion and facilitation of development of various worthwhile businesses. In addition, the workshops engage a broad number of partners and are held in collaboration with a wide range of agencies.
Outstanding Youth Economic Citizenship Award |
Nikhiya Shamsher Startup Name: knicnacs.com | Country: India | Age: 15 Partners: Kaveri Medappa, Sunita, 8-10 vendors, digital marketing company, Aramax, Ccavenue, Payu, Amazon
INTRODUCTION Project knicnacs.com is the culmination of two other projects of Nikhiya Shamsher. The first one, “Bags, Books and Blessings”, was initiated in 2015 to encourage schools to donate reusable school supplies every year. The second project was “Yearn to Learn”, using crowd funding and other donations to launch science laboratories in three schools. Nikhiya wanted to open more laboratories, but resource constraints prevented this from happening. This led to her current project: knicnacs.com, an e-commerce website where she sells quirky, off-beat items. For example, can be a dragonfly which balances on the tip of the finger or coffee-mugs with tuck-in biscuit slots. She intends to use 100 percent of the profits from knicnacs.com to open more laboratories over the coming two years.
hearing many stories about bright young students dropping out of college because they did not have a strong foundation of education. Therefore, Nikhiya wants to provide them quality education in science and math so that they can find jobs in technological fields and become innovators and inventors. She wishes to start a “Yearn to Learn” Mathematics and Science Club in which the exceptionally bright students from various schools can be given specialized coaching so that they can appear in various international competitions, such as the Google Science Fair and the Intel Engineering and Science Fair. Through this project, Nikhiya has demonstrated the potential of technology for young entrepreneurs and that making money and dealing with financial instruments is not just for adults.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Knicnacs.com shows young people that they can earn their own money with the help of modern technology, all while studying in school. Nikhiya was
ACHIEVEMENTS • The project has reached 25,000 students. • At 15, Nikhiya is a proud tax-paying citizen and the money she earns will
be used to start science and math labs in schools and colleges for less privileged youngsters. • Within just one month of the launch, she has earned nearly 150,000 rupees. • She has sold over 200 products to 180 unique customers, with an average sale of Rs 525 ($8 USD) per customer.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Nikhiya’s story and achievements are impressive. The products she has developed are fun and innovative, and her business makes use of new means such as e-commerce for a social cause. In addition, she was able to work with several larger enterprises, thus enlarging her business network and showing great entrepreneurial skills. Finally, she has been able to successfully secure the opening of three science laboratories at a very young age, thereby demonstrating a strong personal and continuous commitment. Furthermore, she is very committed to invest 100 percent of the profits of the next two years to the opening of other laboratories. 85
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Theodora Mihaela Cleja Program Name: Minimalist Drawing Competition | Country: Romania | Age: 18 Partners: Mois Georgiana Julia and Transylvania College teachers: Raluca Hodrea and Mihai Zoican, International Schools in Bucharest, Erasmus International Schools
INTRODUCTION Minimalist Drawing is a competition in which primary and high school students are challenged to artistically represent financial concepts studied during their Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurial Education classes in a minimalistic style. This means that the viewer has the possibility to guess the concept and interpret the work of art. The project is in its second edition. Students are invited to submit their drawings, paintings and other original art pieces filled with ideas describing global financial concepts. A jury of specialists in finance and art then chooses the top three pieces which are selected and exhibited in Transylvania College during the Global Money Week. The drawing with the most votes at the end of the week 86
receives the popularity prize, and the winners are announced during the Global Money Week Awards Ceremony.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The objective of the competition is to achieve a better understanding of the financial world and become more familiar with financial concepts starting from an early age. The competition is aimed at both Romanian and international students from Transylvania College, international schools in Bucharest, and partner Erasmus International schools. ACHIEVEMENTS • The project has reached 1,700 students.
• The competition is the first financial drawing competition that is addressed to such a large range of students in Romania. • After last year’s edition, more students have expressed their interest in taking part in the competition.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS It is the only project of its kind developed by young people for such a wide array of students. Moreover, the ones involved gain a profound understanding of the financial concepts they have studied as part of their preparation for the competition.
Outstanding Youth Economic Citizenship Award |
Victoria Yetunde Akinfolarin Startup Name: Bizkidz Board game | Country: Nigeria | Age: 15 Partners: A Master Trainer in Entrepreneurship, students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship of Nigeria, primary and secondary schools, Universal Basic Education Board
INTRODUCTION Bizkidz is a board game that teaches young children in primary school and early secondary school about money. It emphasizes savings, how to start a small-scale business and other financial inclusion elements. This game was produced for the first time in 2013 and has been growing in popularity in primary schools and secondary schools in Kaduna and Abuja. It is the outcome of collaboration amongst youth in secondary schools with a passion for teaching financial education in a manner that kids will learn and have fun at the same time. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Bizkidz Board game is an ‘infotainment’ project: a combination
of information and entertainment. It is the first of its kind, since it combines virtually all the elements of financial literacy (savings, starting a smallscale business, money management, financial inclusion, business tactics) in a simple and fun way. The objective is to encourage youth to save, become financially educated and start smallscale businesses regardless the size of the comapany. Many youth have been positively impacted by their projects, and understand that they can save their money and grow their businesses.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The project has reached 20,000 children and youth. • Victoria and her friends have won several regional and national awards
through this project and other projects, among them the CYFI Best Entrepreneurship project in 2013. • They also won the most innovative youth financial inclusion project at the 2015 CYFI Awards 2015. • They have won the best Entrepreneurship project five times in SAGE competitions.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The board game is a very innovative and a well-crafted idea, appropriately addressing its target audience as well as the local needs. The overall outreach has been impressive and Victoria shows real dedication to the cause.
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Zhu Hui Yi Program Name: 21 Day Challenge to Record Money | Country: China | Age: 20 Partners: BeBetter Guangzhou youth development center, public welfare “financial education” projects
INTRODUCTION The project is a 21-day-long accounting challenge. During the three weeks, youth must care of their personal payments and recurring expenses while making a thorough accounting analysis. The challenge has been initiated as surveys showed that only 18 percent of college students in China save with a long term time horizon in mind. Furthermore, they are not aware of how they spend their money, nor do they plan their financial futures. Therefore, the program was launched in order to improve students’ financial awareness, by teaching them bookkeeping, how to optimize consumption and how to save effectively. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The project provides students with a platform of accounting information 88
channels to help them become independent and well equipped with financial knowledge. With this 21 Day Challenge, the project does not give students the solution to their financial problems, but gives students the way to solve these problems on their own. The project uses a lot of group activities such as brainstorming and mind mapping. The project also includes the promotion of a national accounting contest, in order to give many young students the possibility to develop accounting skills and rational consumption habits.
ACHIEVEMENTS • The 21 Day Challenge is carried out in 10 schools of Guangdong and reaches up to 24705 students. • In the community, an e-commerce student from Jiangmen Xinhui JiDian Vocational Technical School in Guangdong won the first prize and
won the award of 6000 Yuan ($875 USD). • The competition in Guangdong has raised the interest of well-known websites (such as NetEase, ifeng. com, South Network) and other media channels (Shenzhen daily, Shenzhen Evening News).
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The project finds an interesting and compelling way to bring personal finance to life for students in China. They collaborate effectively with public and civil society initiatives and have made strong use of local media channels to promote the project.
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❻ Global Youth Entrepreneur Award GLOBAL FINALISTS
Ye! Rising Star Award
- for an enterprise with an annual turnover of under 500,000 US dollars Amira Cheniour, Tunisia I.T.Grapes Caritta Seppä, Finland Tespack Fredrick Matress, Malawi Honey Products Industries Karim Dawood, Egypt InterAct Mabel Suglo, Ghana Eco Shoes Mario Jordan “Magellan” Fetalino III, Philippines Acudeen Technologies Pietro Paolo Ganis, Italy Laboratori Fabrici SRL
Ye! Super Star Award
- for an enterprise with an annual turnover of 500,000 US dollars or above Elia Timotheo, Tanzania East Africa Fruits Farm & Co Ltd. Judith Joan Walker, the Netherlands African Clean Energy Momarr Mass Taal, Gambia Tropingo Foods
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Amira Cheniour Startup Name: I.T.Grapes | Country: Tunisia | Age: 29 Partners: Taher Mestiri (Co-Founder), Sinda Soussia (CTO)
INTRODUCTION Amira and her team provide scalable, sustainable IT solutions for rural farmers in Tunisia. By acknowledging the lack of smart water use solutions in a country often experiencing droughts, I.T.Grapes addresses the need for rural agricultural producers to use water more efficiently. Amira and her team developed an e-monitoring and automation system for smarter irrigation-Seabex. Seabex is unique in its ability to decide autonomously, through node based sensors, the necessary equipment that should be activated for irrigation. The Seabex system performs in real-time and monitors fluctuating environmental variables.
collects and sends key environmental parameters to a cloud-based server, which aggregates the data and activates commands to the connected irrigation system, based on a dynamically defined condition. The software offers farmers and producers a web and mobile application with dashboards where they can manage sites, access site overviews, monitor greenhouse parcels, access node activity history and intervene delaying or activating equipment. What makes this technology innovative is the smart automation where the monitors can act autonomously based on real-time environmental data to activate or deactivate the necessary equipment.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH By observing the extreme need for sustainable water use within the Tunisian agricultural sector, I.T.Grapes provides a unique solution that has the potential to be utilized to transform agricultural water consumption around the globe. To address this problem, I.T.Grapes combines hardware and software solutions. The smart sensors installed at the farm
ACHIEVEMENTS • I.T.Grapes has solidified partnerships with governmental institutions for agricultural advisory services. • I.T. Grapes is currently working with the government of Tunisia to deploy four pilot sites in four separate regions on both government and privately owned farms. • The company has participated in water consumption and innovation
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conferences where they have expanded their outreach and been given the opportunity to discuss their product and service in front of influential audiences.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS I.T.Grapes technology has allowed farmers to reduce crop losses by an impressive percentage. This cuttingedge technology ticks all the right boxes, as the hardware addresses the physical constraints of drought, and the software addresses the farmers’ need to constantly assess how they can best utilize their machinery. As a woman in technology in the MENA region, the achievements of Amira Cheniour are extremely admirable and noteworthy.
Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Rising Star Award |
Caritta Seppä Startup Name: Tespack | Country: Finland | Age: 29 Partners: Mario Aguilera (CEO & Founder), Matti Naskali (CTO), Sami Pfaler (Chief of Sales), Yesika A. Robles (Business Development Officer)
INTRODUCTION Caritta and her team at Tespack have sought to address the problem of battery life and charging capability for those who depend on mobile energy. The team at Tespack creates commercially ready smart wear that solves some of the biggest needs of today: connectivity, battery life and charging capability. With a mission to make every individual energy independent, Tespack provides an innovative and sustainable solar powered solution to solve the energy needs of the future. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH By combining the latest technology, solar power, the Internet of Things (IoT) and premium design, Tespack is providing one of the most competitive mobile energy solutions on the market. One of their distinguishing innovations is an ultra-fast charging technology that allows users to charge a 2800mAh power bank in 6 minutes, compared to the 4 to 6 hours that it normally requires to charge similar power banks. Powered by this technology, Tespack has created Smartpacks, including fast power
banks and solar smart helmets, that can be used by rescue forces and outdoor professionals. The smart IoT technology implemented in Tespack products allows the user to follow all energy related data; for example, how much energy has been generated and consumed, as well as battery life statistics about when your phone or battery will die, creating a better connection between the users and their products.
the coming years, this company will surely be able to scale their business to the needs of the market. The achievements of Caritta are impressive and it is clear from the retailers already selling Tespack that these products are addressing the consumer demand for mobile energy that is fast and sustainable.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Tespack has won several awards including Top Energy Startup in EU 2016 by the European Commission, New Energy 2016 competitions, Startup Turkey 2017, WhiteBull and Red Herring Europe. • The team holds more than five IPs on their products and technology. • Currently, Tespack’s Smart Wear products are sold by retailers such as Vodafone, Intersport and Scandinavian Outdoor Store. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Tespack employs a shrewd business model with great potential. As the demand for mobile energy increases in 93
| Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Rising Star Award
Fredrick Matress Startup Name: Honey Products Industries | Country: Malawi | Age: 27 Partners: Victor Mhango (Co-Founder)
INTRODUCTION Fredrick Matress began his social enterprise to strengthen the market power of local and dormant beekeepers. The enterprise is working with youth to commercialize smallholder honey production in Malawi. The team engages and trains young people to collect honey from small scale beekeepers, and provides training, consultancy and modern beekeeping equipment to help the beekeepers to improve their honey production. Honey Products Industries supplies the packaged branded organic honey to consumers through retail shops and home deliveries. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH By training local youth in the practice of beekeeping, Honey Products Industries creates sustainable employment opportunities that contribute to the stability of the local economy. Fredrick Matress and his team have provided the opportunity for local youth to own their own franchise, gaining independence through employment. His support to the local beekeepers by means of agri-consultancy and introduction of modern beekeeping equipment helps them achieve a more sustainable honey output at a higher quality. Through aggregating the honey produced, he helps small scale 94
beekeepers improve access to the market. By training and providing the resources for local youth to operate mini-franchise business, while also supplying already established beekeepers with fair prices for their products, Honey Products Industries contributes to commercializing the honey value chain and alleviating poverty in Malawi.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Honey Products Industries is able to purchase higher quantities of honey from producers because of training and investment into production materials. • The company has sold over 15 tons of organic honey produced by local beekeepers. • By training local youth to become honey aggregators, Honey Products Industries has reduced local poverty by providing a stable source of employment. • Currently Fredrick Matress and his team supply high quality organic honey to high end supermarkets around Malawi. • The honey is produced in ways which help to conserve the environment and maintain large bee populations. JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Fredrick Matress is creating sustainable jobs within his community while also conserving local bee
populations. The income he has been able to generate while having a positive impact on the youth unemployment rate in Malawi makes this enterprise quite remarkable. By employing local youth and employing once dormant beekeepers, Fredrick has brought life to an industry formerly in a slump. By franchising to local youth, this business is highly scalable and stimulating to the bee populations, which, in the end, is better for everyone.
Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Rising Star Award |
Karim Dawood Startup Name: InterAct | Country: Eygpt | Age: 27 Partners: Mohamed Samir (Co-Founder), Mohamed Samir (Co-Founder)
INTRODUCTION InterAct is a tech startup dedicated to revamping the educational experience in the developing world. It creates software and hardware to offer a more interactive and effective way of learning. Its first product, Touchizer, features a low-cost portable device with a software that, when connected to computer and projector, can transform any surface into an interactive whiteboard.
ACHIEVEMENTS • After launching the pilot version of the product, InterAct sold more than 80 units of Touchizer with over 220,000 EGP revenue, demonstrating a successful proof of concept. • Karim Darwood and his team have acquired clients such as leading international schools in Egypt. • InterAct has won nine national and international awards for its innovation.
AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH In emerging economies, education technology is not utilized to its full potential. The team at InterAct is tackling the problem of aging classroom practices by introducing enhanced interactivity and visual aids enabled by technology. Many edutech tools for enhancing the learning environment available on the market, such as interactive whiteboards, are too expensive for schools in the developing world. InterAct innovated the approach by removing the need of a costly physical whiteboard with its effective software solution, thereby able to reduce the costs by as much as 50 percent. With Touchizer, educators have access to all the capabilities of a computer, such as visual aids, interactive applications, internet access, and auto-documentation, in an affordable and user friendly manner.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Karim Darwood and his team have brought edu-tech into classrooms in Eygpt revamping the educational potential of youths. His achievements are impressive and his business meets the increasing need for public schools to reduce education costs while still providing high quality content. His products show potentials to scale and to increase student interaction and engagement to enhance educational outcomes.
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Mabel Suglo Startup Name: Eco Shoes | Country: Ghana | Age: 24 Partners: Kwame Kyei (Co-Founder), Nana Osei Bonsu (Creative Director)
INTRODUCTION Eco Shoes is a social enterprise that manufactures and sells durable and versatile footwear made from 100 percent recycled materials. Noticing an excess of used tires strewn across her country, Mabel Suglo decided to put these old tires to use and make something beautiful. The company designs shoes made from up-cycled tires and fabric waste which are typically underutilized or disposed of in an environmentally unfriendly manner. The company employs and trains out-of-work artisans with disabilities who others find unemployable. Their solution therefore lies in addressing how artisans with disabilities can be equipped with the appropriate skills to make them competent and self-reliant. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Millions of tires are disposed of annually in Ghana, often polluting the environment. Eco Shoes takes this waste along with fabric scraps and transforms it into upcycled fashionable shoes; reinvesting in the environment by upcycling waste into something of greater use and value. Eco Shoes has opened up job 96
opportunities for unemployed artisans with disabilities through training these workers to turn tires into shoes. Therefore, Eco Shoes addresses two problems: empowerment and employment of the disabled through providing resources and skills training, and conservation of the environment through upcycling discarded tires and other materials which previously posed an environmental and health hazard.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Mabel Suglo and her team were the recipients of the SEED Initiative Award 2016, the Anzisha Prize Award 2015 and People’s Choice Award. • Eco Shoes was selected to participate in the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit hosted by former US President Barack Obama. • Eco Shoes provided 10,000 school children with free shoes. For every shoe sold internationally, $1 is donated to the EPF Educational Empowerment Initiative, a charity that provides new shoes to school children from deprived communities in Ghana. EPF then matches the donations made with the provision of new shoes to barefoot children.
• Eco Shoes was also featured in the BBC’s “Women of Africa” documentary, as well as in other international media outlets such as Huffington Post and CNN.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS Eco Shoes is not just an innovative business; this youth enterprise creates jobs and addresses environmental pollution through up-cycling. By forging education with business, Mabel Suglo has reinvigorated her community through employing those many others would have turned their backs to. As Eco Shoes is already profitable, it is clear that underlying this social enterprise lies a strong business model. By investing in her community Mabel has reduced local unemployment by educating the disabled in a profitable endeavor.
Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Rising Star Award |
Mario Jordan “Magellan” Fetalino III Startup Name: Acudeen Technologies | Country: The Philippines | Age: 26 Partners: Mario E. Salazar (Co Founder & Chief Technology Officer), Jasper Y. Franco (Chief Information Officer), Malaya Laraya (CFO), Yacine Derradji (Consultant - Market Research and Factoring)
INTRODUCTION Acudeen is a fintech startup solving cashflow and working capital constraints for SMEs. Acudeen has addressed the burden placed on small businesses when waiting for large invoices to process. It offers an online marketplace where businesses can sell their invoices at a discounted price to investors. The Acudeen platform allows users to bypass the long payment term schemes and ultimately grows both seller and their client’s business clients. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH Acudeen is revolutionizing the way businesses make financing decisions. Its online facility liquidates the receivables (Invoices/PDCs/Checks) of small and medium enterprises within 5 to 7 days. The receivables are bought by partnered financial institutions and individual investors at a discounted rate. The technology enables the secure and user friendly subrogation and underwriting process. Acudeen allows SMEs to obtain liquidity to reinvest and grow its business in a time efficient manner, creating the opportunity for SMEs to grow to their potential. It endeavors to
foster a healthier working relationship between the supplier and the client and a more financially inclusive atmosphere in the Philippines.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Acudeen has established partnerships with major credit bureaus such as Dun & Bradstreet, and CIBI Information Inc. • Through their involvement with credit bureaus, Acudeen has gained access to critical business information and payment behaviors. • Acudeen partnered with financial institutions RCBC and First Circle and from these partnerships has gained access to over 50 million in monthly financing capacity for 2017. • Acudeen has partnered with Unionbank on collection and escrow services. • The team have also been awarded the Winner of Seedstars Philippines 2016, Tech Asia award 2016 and the Startup Summit Philippines 2016.
their services, Acudeen have garnered an impressive list of established partners. The services provided by Acudeen assist both small businesses and the larger corporations they must inevitably do business with. This business has truly recognized a gap in the market and, in addressing, has become highly profitable.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS The success of Acudeen demonstrates a keen eye towards addressing what barriers hinder the growth of small businesses. Through 97
| Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Rising Star Award
Pietro Paolo Ganis Startup Name: Laboratori Fabrici SRL | Country: Italy | Age: 29 Partners: Vincenzo Vitiello (Co-Founder--Industrial Designer), Alessio D’Andrea (Co-Founder--Industrial Designer) people healthy tips and monitoring the indoor space while the homeowner is away.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Laboratori Fabrici was awarded the Seal of Excellence of the European Union in December 2016. • The team has raised over 300,000 euros through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in 2015. • CLAIRY was patented in March 2015 and presented at CES Las Vegas the following year. • The team was accelerated by Plug and Play Ventures, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest and most influential investment firms who have invested in other globally successful companies such as Google, PayPal and Dropbox. INTRODUCTION Recent studies have shown that indoor pollution can be up to five times more potent than outdoor pollution. The World Health Organization has in fact listed it as one of the most dangerous threats for human health. Pietro Paolo Ganis and his team at Laboratori Fabrici design technology to address the problem of indoor environmental pollutants, health and wellness. Their innovation, CLAIRY, is an air purifier that combines real plants with technology to help people reduce indoor air pollution and monitor their environment. It couples elegant design with an environmentally friendly solution, and brings plants and humans into harmony through its mobile application. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH While most current air purifiers on the market focus on filtering polluted air, CLAIRY’s solution actually produces its own fresh air. The smart flowerpot and the air filter make it a unique natural purifier. With its technology, CLAIRY enhances the abilities of plants to purify the indoor air by 8 to 10 times. The competitive advantage in having a plant that produces air means CLAIRY owners do not purify and recycle already existing air but 98
instead actually create new fresh air within their own homes. CLAIRY connects to Wi-Fi and may be managed with a mobile application that provides: real-time pollution analysis, management of fan functions, status of the plant diagnostics, and temperature/ humidity monitors. Through the app, CLAIRY can communicate with other smart home devices. The plant may also serve as a health assistant, giving
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS CLAIRY is a product designed beautifully. This product is innovative and ingenious. Coupling real-time updates on indoor air pollution with fresh air production addresses the consumer demand for sustainable, eco-friendly and high tech products. This product is already backed by impressive investors and the fact that it can communicate with other smart, in-home products means there is great potential for growth.
Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Super Star Award |
Elia Timotheo Startup Name: East Africa Fruits Farm & Co Ltd. | Country: Tanzania | Age: 27 Partners: Peter Msafiri (Co-Founder)
INTRODUCTION Increasing the shelf life of fresh produce in Tanzania and Sub-Saharan Africa has been a formidable challenge over the years. This challenge presents a huge opportunity to create a sustainable pipeline of monetary value. Approximately 4.5 million tons ($0.85 billion) of produce is wasted in Tanzania (230 million tons in SubSaharan Africa) annually due to poor handling, improper methods of transportation, and a lack of sufficient storage facilities in farms and markets. On top of this, farmers are often paid unfairly by the middlemen. The goal of East Africa Fruits Farm is to significantly reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmers’ income. Elia Timotheo’s enterprise buys fruits and vegetables from local smallholders at fair prices, readying them for market using technology to preserve the shelf life of the produce. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH By aggregating fresh produce, offering fair prices to farmers, and processing and distributing products to local markets, East Africa Fruits Farm has created a sustainable and profitable business model. The use of cold chain storage and logistics addressed the farmers’ challenges of heavy post-harvest losses, seasonal scarcity and deteriorating quality of produce during transportation, therefore adding value to the smallholders’ products. In sustaining the local producers, the enterprise
has captured major wholesalers, who now buy locally instead of importing the same fruits and vegetables from outside of Tanzania. East Africa Fruits Farm also offers an opportunity for small-scale farmers to franchise on arable land, giving local farmers increased independence and resilience to seasonal issues they previously experienced.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Since 2013, East Africa Fruits Farm has been able to construct a facility of more than 15,000 square feet in the busiest city in Tanzania. • The company owns their own fleet of refrigerated trucks to transport and distribute the produce. • Elia Timotheo and his team have worked with more than 1,000 farmers
and have increased their incomes from less than $641 per year to $1,700 per year due to improved production, storage and access to a reliable market. • In Bagamoyo province, East Africa Fruits Farm has drilled a borehole that has increased the water supply to local farmers and villagers. The beneficiaries buy the water cheaply in comparison to purchasing from water vendors or using seasonal water streams and logged water swamps. • East Africa Fruits Farm employees 18 full-time employees and 20 seasonal workers, and continues to support and train agronomists and extension officers to promote sustainable agricultural practices.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS East Africa Fruits Frams demonstrates impressive job creation with a profitable business model. The Farm Company has a highly scalable business model through its franchising offer. The company’s ability to provide employment and greater independence to local farmers also demonstrates a strong social impact generated by this enterprise. Elia Timotheo has done a great deal for his community and has invested in providing sustainable business practices with sustainable job creation. 99
| Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Super Star Award
Judith Joan Walker Startup Name: African Clean Energy | Country: The Netherlands | Age: 27 Partners: Ruben Walker (Commercial Director), Stephen Walker (Manufacturing Director)
INTRODUCTION Over 2 billion people in the world still cook over rudimentary cookstoves and open fires. These stoves and open fires kill over 4 million people annually due to smoke inhalation, more than AIDS and malaria combined. Not only do these cooking methods contribute to the deaths of millions of people, but the use of these rudimentary stoves also lead to continuing deforestation from the high demand for wood fuel. On the African continent alone, over 4 million hectares of forest have been cut down to fulfill the needs of fuel for cooking. African Clean Energy is addressing this problem head on by enabling clean and sustainable cooking is available for all. Their proprietary product the ACE 1 allows for smokeless cooking as well as off-the-grid solar energy, therefore aiding in environmental conservation while also reducing costs to product owners, and improving the health of the rural poor. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH The ACE 1 gasifies fuel, meaning no smoke is created and emissions are negligible while cooking. With the fuel being combusted completely, biomass fuel use is reduced by approximately 70%, benefiting the environment and reducing the financial strain placed on rural families from fuel costs. The battery is charged with a solar panel 100
and powers a USB and DC port, which can be used to charge mobile devices and power an LED light. Clean African Energy has partnered with Kiva and Mpesa, allowing the enterprise to provide an innovative micro-financing contract and mobile repayment service. With average fuel and energy costs of ZAR 380 per month and ZAR 160 on mobile charging and candles alone, these services save customers money after just the first month of use.
• The inclusive sales model implemented by African Clean Energy using integrated micro-financing, means Joan Walker and her team can reach people who have rarely been treated as a consumer, let alone a customer before. These individuals are now able to be energy independent, save significant amounts of money on fuel costs, and improve their personal health and the health of their families.
ACHIEVEMENTS • African Clean Energy has built a production facility in Lesotho that employs over 50 staff members. • In Lesotho, Judith Walker and her team have set up the Orphans Project as a CSR and have provided stoves to over 400 families. Currently the team has sold 40k+ clean cookstoves. They have also set up two micro-financing programs and have signed a microfinancing partnership in Uganda. • In the course of the coming year African Clean Energy are expanding distribution to Cambodia and Uganda as well as setting up a component consolidation warehouse in Vietnam. • The majority of African Clean Energy’s customers have extremely limited access to modern energy before the ACE 1. Prior to utilizing the ACE 1 these customers on average travelled 63km per month to access fuels and electricity.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS African Clean Energy demonstrates a strong social impact in a plethora of ways. The partnerships with micro finance institutions are a strong point for this enterprise. The ability for customers to access micro financing programs so that they may acquire the ACE 1 shows that Judith Joan Walker and her team have analyzed all levels of the supply chain to bring clean, sustainable energy to South Africans. The team’s employment of over 50 members of staff is also impressive and displays a scalable business plan in action. Th African Clean Energy business model addresses social impact on a variety of levels: conservation, health, and unemployment, displaying that this social enterprise is adjusting to the changing needs of the market.
Global Youth Entrepreneur Award: Ye! Super Star Award |
Momarr Mass Taal Startup Name: Tropingo Foods | Country: The Gambia | Age: 29 INTRODUCTION Tropingo Foods is an agro-processing and export business based in The Gambia. It provides scalable solutions to crop loss within the mango and groundnuts sector. Tropingo Foods was established to create sustainable access to markets for local producers by developing value chains and producing value added goods for export. Established in 2015, the company now employs 180 staff, the majority of which are women. Tropingo Foods has equipped local mango and groundnut growers with the technical assistance needed to increase produce quality required by the export market. Tropingo Foods has been recognized locally and internationally for its practices and their impact on rural communities, youth, and women. AN OUTSTANDING APPROACH By utilizing efficient processing practices and operations model, Tropingo Foods is contributing to developing a vibrant, professional groundnut sector in The Gambia, a sector which constitutes the country’s key exports (5.3% of GDP) but has seen decreased production over the last 30 years. Due to limited access to market and poor storage facilities, it is estimated that 80% of mango produced locally is wasted in post-harvest. Tropingo Foods applies dehydration techniques, which reduces the weight and space required to store and transport the fruit, and allows it to remains fresh for extended periods of time in ordinary storage conditions, therefore maximizing the value derived for all stakeholders along the value chain. The strategic choice of focusing on groundnut and mango, which do not overlap in crop seasons, allows the company to utilize its operations facilities. Its high standard of processing increases the competitiveness of the products in the international market. By actively employing women and youth, the company also contributes to youth and women empowerment in The Gambia. Tropingo Foods is working towards establishing The Gambia as a
regional hub to supply the world with quality food products.
ACHIEVEMENTS • Tropingo Foods generated revenue of 1,800,000 US dollars in 2016. Momarr Mass Taal was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs. • Tropingo Foods has been recognized for its critical role in the agriculture sector and in providing employment for youths and women in The Gambia. • Currently Tropingo employees over 180 local people and has succeeded in reducing crop loss through utilizing effective and environmentally friendly farming and production methods. • Momarr Mass Taal has succeeded in creating a sustainable eco-friendly business model by turning waste energy back into energy.
JUDGES’ THOUGHTS This enterprise is already established in the community with an eye towards expanding internationally. This enterprise displays an innovative solution to a problem that plagues much of the African continent. The job creation already attributed to this enterprise is extremely impressive. The business model in use is smart and scalable. With a high impact on the fruit market and a high impact on local employment, especially amongst women, this is a profitable youth-led enterprise that is also providing an immense social impact within The Gambia. The solution Momarr Mass Taal has implemented through his business model is a creative yet simple solution to the normal harvest losses incurred to farmers when fruits and nuts are transported in Africa. 101
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Poverty is a global challenge; It has many enduring effects on people, their communities and their countries. CYFI sees that the key to fighting poverty is for people to learn how to manage and handle money and have the confidence, knowledge and capabilities to spend and earn it responsibly. This must start from childhood. To address this CYFI has partnered with thousands of organizations in over 140 countries around the world - from banks, to governments, to NGOs, to academics – you name it! Together, we work to create policies and programs that enable children and youth to learn about money, have access to a bank account, develop entrepreneurial skills and, most importantly, to believe in themselves. Our work seeks to reshape financial systems for children and youth. In celebrating the incredible efforts of those working to empower young people, the Global Inclusion Awards create awareness and a call to action for individuals, communities, institutions and organizations alike to align interests and strategies for creating far-reaching social impact. After just 6 years of working to empower young people, CYFI has contributed to international platforms such as the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), hosted a highlevel stakeholders meeting held at the UN in New York, and is recognized as one of the world’s Top 50 NGOs by Geneva Global.
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The overall work of CYFI is made possible by:
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