Welcome Address
2016 Global Money Week Seminar for Secondary Schools
Excerpt from the
Welcome Address
Delivered by Dr . Bola Fajemirokun , Founder , DIN
15th March 2016 - Basically , GMW is a celebration of ideas , activities and learning , aimed at not only ensuring that children and youths learn how to make smart money choices from an early stage but that they also develop the confidence to make sound financial choices and engage effectively with financial institutions even before they attain adulthood .
“ The goal of GMW is to teach children and youths about money , saving , creating livelihoods , gaining employment and becoming an entrepreneur .” You may then pose the question what does all this mean to me ? Why should it really matter to us in Nigeria ? The truth is it matters a lot because unlike in the developed economies , we have a youthful population in the sense that the majority of our national population is under 35 years . We also have high poverty levels and high juvenile unemployment . Therefore , our children and youths need to be savvy about money and be interested in becoming entrepreneurs who create jobs ! Secondly , unlike our parents , we live in the digital age . New technologies and platforms have radically transformed the way we work , live , play and how we communicate . Mobile phones , the internet and electronic ( cashless ) payments
through cards , ATMs and POS are now the channels for carrying out financial transactions . Knowing how these channels work and being comfortable using them means that you can avoid being the victims of frauds and scams . They have helped us to transcend the barriers of distance , language and costs and that is why the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) has been spearheading cashless payments across the country as part of the financial inclusion drive . In turn , more people are now engaging with formal financial institutions rather than taking their chances with the informal operators .
We are particularly pleased to have as our guest speaker , Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe , the Founder of Money Matters with Nimi and CEO , Bestman Games Limited . She is a leading expert in the field of consumer finance in Nigeria .
In closing , I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the principals and teachers of all the schools represented here today . This has been a difficult time to organize this type of outing because of the onset of the end-of-term exams and the impending Easter break . So we really appreciate your participation . I assure you that you will not regret being part of this event !
We acknowledge and thank our corporate partners , Ozone Cinemas and Healthcare International Limited , for supporting the 2016 GMW Seminar for Secondary Schools .
New Perspectives 2