Empowering: Good SENS pupils participate in activities to help them understand financial literacy concepts.
The Financial Industry Collective Outreach (Finco) has been recognised at a global level for its efforts to address low financial literacy skills among Malaysian youth.
Singled out was its popular flagship financial education programme, Good SENS.
The programme, which offers primary school pupils the opportunity to learn about financial management and apply financial concepts through running a social enterprise, bagged the title of “Best Non-Profit Project in a Developing Economy” at the 2024 Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (MAIAs).
The MAIAs, which celebrate the increasingly important work being done to help people understand money, received nearly 200 entries from 35 countries this year.
Of the 17 winning entries, three were from Malaysia, with Finco being one of the outstanding organisations to be recognised for creating measurable impact in this field.
The judges said it was impressive to see primary school pupils have such confidence and understanding of business concepts as they exercised problem-solving skills to tackle real-world issues such as meal shortage and flooding, Finco said in a press release dated June 25.
In 2023 alone, the 43 schools participating in Good SENS applied their learning to generate RM75,000, with 36% of the earnings channelled to social or environmental causes.
During the past year, the programme has seen 98% of pupils display an increased interest in learning about financial literacy, and 78% of pupils demonstrate an increased understanding of financial literacy concepts.
It has also equipped teachers with useful knowledge and skills, with 71% of new and 100% of returning teachers expressing improved confidence in teaching financial literacy concepts.
Commenting on the win announced on May 30, its chief executive officer Clare Walker said Finco is humbled by the recognition and looks forward to continue partnering with educators, financial industry volunteers and pupils to ensure access to good financial education.
To date, more than 151 teachers and 132 financial industry mentors have been empowered to work with expert facilitators, giving 1,111 upper primary school pupils the opportunity to learn financial management strategies.The Malaysian financial industry collectively funds the programme in 30 schools nationwide, while CIMB Bank and AmBank have supported an additional 14 schools.
Finco chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim said he is proud that Finco’s work has received international recognition.
Such an in-depth initiative can only see results, in terms of learning outcomes, through the sustained commitment of all stakeholders and funders involved, he added.
Good SENS is a collaboration with the Education Ministry’s Sports, Co-curricular and Arts Division (BSKK). Finco’s implementation partners are the Social Enterprise Academy in Scotland and Retrospective Discovery in Malaysia.
