Minute profit slice has huge impact on grassroots financial literacy
The Financial Literacy Initiative received a major boost last week when one of the platform partners, Standard Bank of Namibia, declared a contribution of N$200,000 for the current financial year.
The bank is one of the initiative’s strategic partners and committed to 0.2% of its net after-tax profits in 2013 when it was launched. Other major platform partners are the GIZ, German Cooperation, Agribank, Healthworks, Kongalend and EMHPrescient Investment Managers. Earlier this year, these supporters were joined by Letshego Bank.
At a ceremony where the General Manager of the Financial Literacy Initiative, Mr Francois Brand, officially received the bank’s contribution, the bank’s PR and Communication Manager, Surihe Gaomas-Guchu said their partnership and annual support focuses on financial education for all consumers.
“I strongly believe that the interventions made by the Financial Literacy Initiative with the support of all platform supporters have gone a long way in improving the financial competencies of all Namibians, one of the ways being through alleviating debt to create financial wellness,” she said.
The Financial Literacy Initiative targets consumers at grassroots level, helping them through workshops and practical training sessions, to take command of their own finances with the ultimate aim to reduce their debt. According to estimates by the initiative, only about half of the general population has the knowledge to make informed decisions as far as their finances are concerned.
The training and awareness sessions that the initiative conducts are geared to help consumers and the owners of micro and small enterprises, to grasp financial principles that enable them to navigate and avoid common pitfalls when choosing how to spend their money.
Celebrating Standard Bank of Namibia’s 2017 contribution to the Financial Literacy Initiative, from the left, Chuma Siboleka and Francois Brand of the initiative, with Sophy Mouton, Dennis Isaacs and Surihe Gaomas-Guchu of the bank.
