Young Entrepreneurs are Enhancing Financial Literacy Around the Globe
How? By taking part in Global Money Week of course! Learn more below.
Young entrepreneurs have long advanced the capacities of their peers through various activities. Global Money Week is just one of the many ways that young entrepreneurs impact change and get involved in shaping future generations. When it comes to money, the ability to access information to learn about how it works, save it to prepare for the future, and earn it through building businesses, is critical. That’s why Ye! entrepreneurs have always been a part of Global Money Week.
The 8th Edition of Global Money Week (GMW) will be held this year from the 25-31 March. This an annual financial awareness campaign was built to inspire children and young people to learn about money matters, livelihoods and entrepreneurship. GMW started in 2012 and has gained immense international support building momentum for the topic of financial awareness for children and youth worldwide. Since the first edition, GMW has touched the lives of 32 million children and young people in over 165 countries.
How does Global Money Week work?
During GMW, national organizations such as government bodies, ministries, financial institutions, central banks, local businesses, social enterprises, not-for-profit and youth organizations, universities, schools and more, work together to organize different types of activities for children and youth to spark excitement around the topic of ‘Learn.Save.Earn.’
What is the role of young entrepreneurs in this campaign?
Young entrepreneurs must of course be financially literate. They also depend on their communities' being comprised of full economic citizens who they can then work with as potential team members, mentors, and partners. That’s why Ye! entrepreneurs have often led Global Money Week activities in their countries. Below, we highlight three Ye! Community members who took part in previous Global Money Week Campaigns. They used their know-how and business savvy to inspire children and young people to learn about money matters and raise awareness about financial inclusion and the importance of saving. By empowering children and youth, these entrepreneurs also help to transfer such knowledge to the local communities. Check them out!
Aisha Ali | 21
Aisha is a social entrepreneur and the executive director of I Profile Foundation, an enterprise that focuses on child empowerment programmes with special emphasis on leadership, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. The Foundation runs long-term annual projects with primary schools and refugee youth to promote integration and the financial inclusion of children in Uganda.
I Profile Foundation first participated in Global Money Week in 2017. Along with partners, the organization reached 1,000 children and youth through visits to different schools and communities. The highlight of the Foundation’s activities was the “be your own boss challenge,” where kids were tasked with completing different entrepreneurial activities.
During GMW2018, I Profile Foundation, in collaboration with Mixa Kids, organized a week of financial literacy lessons for children with an emphasis on the history of money, budgeting, spending, saving, earning, and more. The focus of this event was on girls and igniting their entrepreneurial potential, under the theme “her money matters”. The children were asked to come up with ideas to boost the economic development of different countries. To end the week, they organized a Grand Finale event with participants from the various schools, their parents and teachers.
Want to discover more about Aisha and her previous activities during GMW? Have a look at her profile here or read more about her activities here!
Desmund Egbe | 32
Desmund is the founder and CEO of Camer Human Capital (CHC) Ltd, a management consultancy firm aimed at enhancing Africa’s human capital.
In 2018, CHC was one of the leading organizations organizing Global Money Week activities and events in Cameroon. As part of the GMW celebrations, Desmund organized a seminar on “Creativity and Innovation: Entrepreneurship for Youth” at Higher Institute of Management Studies (HIMS), Buea. The presentation, which reached 400 young people, was organized in collaboration with partners from private and public-sector organizations. Students had the opportunity to learn about how to enhance their own entrepreneurial creativity as well as some of the sources and principles of innovation for entrepreneurs. The objective of the seminar was to spur creativity and innovation among youths to encourage them to develop their entrepreneurial and livelihood skills.
Additionally, CHC Ltd organized a workshop where they provided locally made piggy banks (wood boxes) to over 123 children at the Secondary School of Buea, to celebrate the week. Children were coached and mentored on financial education through demonstrations by the team on how to use the box for savings.
Curious to learn more about Desmund and his participation in GMW? Check out his profile here and read more about his work during GMW2018 here.
Jose Adolfo Quisocala Condori | 11
When he was just 7 years old, Jose founded the Student Cooperative Bank, to help students not only save money, but recycle, too. After being taught the value of saving by his parents, Jose came up with a new financial system that would allow his classmates to save money, but here’s the twist: doing so helps benefit the planet.
The Student Cooperative Bank first took part in GMW in 2015. During the week, Jose and his team organized talks on savings in five schools, reaching approximately 2,500 students. They were urged to inculcate the habit of saving, a fundamental tool especially for those looking to become entrepreneurs. Again, in 2017, the Student Cooperative Bank took part in GMW by providing valuable information about saving and finance to students through various financial games. These games focused on teaching students how to create a savings plan by teaming up with local television and radio stations to further emphasize the importance behind saving.
Read more about Jose on his profile and learn all his activities during the previous GMW campaigns here!
And you? Looking to support the next generation of young people to learn about money matters and take control of their future? Curious to discover how can you take part in the Campaign? Check out the GMW website and get inspired!