As part of efforts aimed at building a strong financial foundation for children, and in fulfillment of one of its Corporate Social Responsibility Pillars; Keystone Bank recently reached out to primary & secondary schools across the nation to teach the importance of managing finances from a young age.
The Bank joined the Central Bank of Nigeria and Junior Achievers Nigeria (JAN) to sensitize over 80,000 pupils across the country on financial literacy as part of the activities marking the 2017 Global Money Week, with this year’s theme, being, “Learn, Earn and Save”.
Over 3000 primary and secondary schools students across 29 schools nationwide were taught the disciplines and culture of saving and spending wisely, a statement from the lender explained.
Mr. Ben Udehi, the Divisional Head, South East, who represented the Managing Director/CEO of Keystone Bank Nigeria, at the Government Model Secondary School, Asaba, Delta State, said, “beyond learning math, science and other subjects, It’s important for kids to build clever savings habits from an early age in order to cultivate key management skills for later in life”.
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He added that, “At Keystone Bank, we understand that educating kids about financial responsibilities is key to creating a generation of capable adults who can make wise decisions and this is essential as children are the leaders of tomorrow who will be making decisions that drive not only their lives but also the economy”
Keystone Bank taught in thirty different schools – both public and private schools – including Bauchi, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Kebbi and Enugu States that cuts across the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria.
The students were also given the opportunity to discuss their future careers and mentors.
Keystone Bank strives to provide and promote the importance of financial rights, financial education and financial inclusion to all children and youth. Today, less than 1% of all children in the world have access to financial education and financial inclusion, and one billion children live in poverty.
Financial illiteracy could lead to many young people strained with large amounts of debt, which could result in damaging consequences on their progress and welfare. With access to financial education children and youth can learn to save and spend money responsibly.