Financial literacy can alleviate poverty

Isaac Pinielo | Thursday March 12, 2015 16:41

This was said on Tuesday at the opening of the Global Money Week held at the Gaborone International Conversion Centre (GICC).

The event is an annual international money awareness celebration, which engages children worldwide in learning how money works, including saving, creating livelihoods, gaining employment and entrepreneurship.

Lila Pavey, a program manager at Stepping Stones International stated that financial illiteracy results among many young people struggling with large amounts of debt, leading to negative repercussions on their development and well-being. “With financial access and education children and youth can learn to save and spend money responsibly. Youth are frustrated, they are hungry and they are willing to learn,” she said.

Pavey noted that if opportunities and the right information are provided the youth can begin to formulate their own plans for their futures, adding that saving is a big part of the future. The event is expected to start a conversation that will lead to financial inclusion of youth in Botswana and propel Global Money Week’s objectives on to Botswana’s development agenda, which is to interface youth voices with decision makers and financial leaders in Botswana.

During the welcome address, executive director of Stepping Stones, Lisa Jamu said the recipe of money success is wise decision making on savings, investing and budgeting plus social responsibility which will transform an individual into a financially and socially responsible citizen. “They say money makes the world go round. But, there are two important ingredients that people often forget: you can throw the money away, or learn to save and invest it, to end up with a more sustainable income,” she explained.

An earlier study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated that improving financial literacy could have positive spillover effects on the economy and the society as a whole. “It is desirable to improve the level of financial literacy among the most vulnerable parts of the African population.

Well-designed financial education initiatives can reduce demand-side barriers to more effective financial inclusion and can empower vulnerable individuals economically, so that they can better manage household resources and develop income-generating activities,” reads part of the report.