JAN partners CBN Bankers’ Committee on youth financial literacy

Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) has entered into a partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria Bankers’ Committee to spread financial literacy awareness among young people across the 36 states in the country.

Members of the Bankers’ Committee visited secondary schools on Financial Literacy Day as part of the celebration to mark the Global Money Week, with the theme, “Build your future, be smart about money.”

A statement by JAN described Global Money Week as an annual global awareness-raising initiative that emphasises the importance of ensuring that young people are financially literate through information, skills, attitudes, and behaviours needed to make sound financial decisions and achieve financial well-being.

It stated that this year, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) in partnership with the Banker’s committee celebrated the Global Money Week with a six-day long series of events and activities including the Financial Literacy Day in select schools across the Nation.

The programme, according to the statement, is designed in a way that connects diverse financial institutions to Junior Achievement Nigeria schools and leaders in these financial institutions serve as mentors to Junior Achievement Nigeria students based on the financial literacy modules created by Junior Achievement Nigeria.

It stressed the need for young people to have a financially healthy mindset to help them make smart money decisions, especially one that makes a good outcome in the future.

“Today, millions of adults live in debt and in extreme cases, abject penury due to the inability to make proper financial decisions.

“A recent data by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), reveals that a large number of children do not understand the basics about money and the majority of youth is not able to perform very simple calculations related to interest rates.

“This partnership is expected to achieve the ultimate goal of the Global Money Week by ensuring that children and youth have access to high-quality financial education, learn about money matters and make smart money decisions that can improve their financial well-being now and in the near future,” the statement read.

Commenting on this year’s Global Money Week celebration, the statement quoted the Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria, Foluso Gbadamosi as saying: “Raising children and youth to excel as financially independent adults takes intentionality. As an organisation aware of this, every year the Global Money Week is one we look forward to and another opportunity to invest in the lives of young people as we teach them how to earn, save, invest and donate. We appreciate the Central Bank of Nigeria and Bankers’ Committee for partnering with us to grow a financially literate generation, and also their commitment to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2030 focused on Quality Education and No Poverty.”