The Youth Café Introduces A Financial Literacy Certification Program 2021
23% of 18- 25 year old’s are excluded from financial services and few service providers in developing countries specifically target the youth. A study by UNDP has shown that “Providing young people with financial services- whether this is a safe place to save or an appropriately structured loan for investment in an enterprise or education- can promote entrepreneurship and asset building and emphasize sustainable livelihoods”.
Over the years, The Youth Café has undertaken projects geared towards economic empowerment benefiting over 1.6 million young people. In 2021, The Youth Café is prioritizing inclusive development to make sure that more young people benefit from economic growth and development. We aim to reduce poverty and inequality, in both income and non-income dimensions. In line with this vision, The Youth Café is piloting a Financial Literacy Intervention Program for youth.
This program is key in addressing the unique problems young men and women face and help them navigate the financial real world. Before implementing the Financial Literacy Program, The Youth Café conducted a Financial Needs Assessment. This needs assessment was very important as it provided a better understanding of youth financial attitudes, behaviors and influences and enabled The Youth Café to come up with the ongoing Financial Literacy Program.
The needs assessment that was conducted over the month of May which had over 600 respondents between the ages of 18-35 had 80% of respondents expressing that they are interested in an increase in financial knowledge. Given that there were over 600 respondents, this is a large percentage and gives the confirmation that financial literacy is an area of concern among the youth.
The Financial Literacy Program improves the ability of the youth to make sound financial decisions decisions in the following areas: (1) Credit and Debt: Considering appropriate and inappropriate uses of loans, credit cards, and other types of money owed, as well as managing credit and understanding the impact of debt on a person’s or family’s financial situation. (2) Insuring: Anticipating and Preparing for future needs in the event of losses or unexpected events (e.g., car, health, property and life insurance). (3) Saving and Investing: Building financial resources for short-, mid- and long-term goals.
We currently have over 100 participants for Cohort 1 attending the 8 week Financial Literacy Intervention Program. In this program, the participants learn how to master everyday financial skills and use the knowledge and skills acquired to manage their financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial wellbeing. They also get to learn how to improve their personal finances involving learning and practicing a variety of skills related to budgeting, managing and paying off debts, and understanding credit and investment products.
Through this program, participants are guided on how to become financially independent and self-sufficient. If you are looking to budget, get financial advice, invest, save and live a more financially secure life, then this is the perfect program for you!
The program incorporates experts to guest present on certain topics to enhance the participants' opportunity to apply the information as they learn, encourage peer-to-peer learning to create an environment for participants' to learn from one another and encourage creativity and having fun while learning.
The sessions are held virtually lasting 1-2 hours and take place over Zoom platform on Saturdays evenings. The first cohort started their classes mid July and are currently studying how to understand their debt journey. To make the sessions interesting, we have questions that the participants get to reflect upon, exercises that are involving and everyone gets to work on and assignments that the participants get to work on during the week so that in the end they are able to prioritize and categorize the most important goals and give them a timeline, create a clear vision on using money as a tool to achieve the most important things in life and be able to develop SMART financial goals that make a positive impact in their lives.
In achieving the deliverables of this program, we have a very strong team working on this project. As the Project Lead, Ruth Mbua is a holder of a Bachelor of Laws- LLB (HONS), Masters of Commercial and Resources Law and currently pursuing CFA Program (Level II). Ruth is a Business Banker at Cooperative Bank with over 10 years progressive experience in the banking sector, offering valuable insights in managing personal and business credit, savings and investments.
Her mission in life is to inspire and motivate positive change in the lives of everyone she interacts with. Her passion for the youth has led her to volunteer her time with NGOs that are youth centric and has over the last three years worked towards ensuring young people live to their fullest potential through the development of basic literacy, life skills and financial literacy programs and enjoys jigsaw puzzles, knitting, reading motivational books and taking walks in nature during her free time.
Tanya Kamatu, one of the experts leading the sessions, works with the Micro Enterprise and Small Business Enterprise (MSEA) in Nairobi. She has worked with an Investor Relations firm in New York and managed a portfolio of Wall Street Investors. She is passionate about financial literacy programs and is currently piloting a financial literacy course on Govjunction and runs a blog on Instagram called Her Money Africa and is very interested in issues of financial literacy and personal finance. She is keen to make an impact and contribution within Kenya and the youth space (both online and offline).
We still have more sessions going for Cohort 1 and certificates will be given to the participants after completion of the program. Incase of any questions in regards to the project or if interested in being part of the program, feel free to reach out to Synthia Ontita (synthia.ontita@theyouthcafe.com)
The Youth Café works with young men and women around Africa as a trailblazer in advancing youth-led approaches toward achieving sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience and transformative change.
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