| Home - Recent News |
| |
| NewsCurrentAffairs |
| |
| The Australian Government AID- Innovation Fund has approved the funding of the pilot multimedia project on financial education in the Philippines in partnership with APPEND, Inc. and Opportunity International (OI)-Australia.
Dubbed as “An Opportunity for All: Financial Education in the Philippines”, the project which will run for one year is designed to help microfinance institutions in the development of multimedia resources and other support materials to empower clients and increase their financial knowledge.
“A financially capable individual is one who has knowledge and skills in spotting financial opportunities, knows where to go for help and has the confidence to make informed choices, and takes effective action to improve their financial well-being,” Virginia P. Juan, APPEND president and CEO said.
One of the objectives of the project is to build the capacity of the micro and small entrepreneurs, and help them understand financial terminologies and financial products and services.
|
| |
![]() |
| |
| |
| The project also hopes to empower clients to confidently exercise initiative and engage in financial decisions leading to increased financial sector inclusion and strengthening of the consumer protection environment.
According to Robyn Robertson, OI consultant, similar project was conducted in Africa and India. However, a different approach and strategies will be used in the Philippines depending on the needs of the target audience.
The microfinance institutions which will serve as pilot areas in the project are the Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Inc. (ASKI) in Nueva Ecija, Talete king Panyulung Kapampangan, Inc (TPKI), in Pampanga and Hagdan sa Pag-uswag Foundation Inc. (HSPFI) in Cagayan De Oro.
“The investment in financial literacy and financial capability development initiatives is not only a critical component of a client focused microfinance institution, it is a social impact investment that delivers returns on the individual and group client as it will reduce exposure to exploitative situations through improved awareness of factors that contribute to personal financial risk,” Juan said.
|
| |
![]() |
| |
| |
| The growing sophistication of financial markets even at the bottom end of formal financial sector means the consumers are being offered a variety of complex financial instruments for borrowing and savings.
This exposes them to a new level of responsibility and risk of financial decisions which can make significant impact on the individual and their family’s future.
According to the Centre for Financial Inclusion in its report ‘Opportunities and Obstacles’, the 301 microfinance industry stakeholders who were asked to rank the top opportunities and obstacles revealed that the highest opportunity cited was the provision of financial education and the limited financial literacy is the biggest obstacle in achieving financial inclusion.
|
| |
| |
| |
| Back to top |
|
| |
|
|
