UAE Business: Financial literacy key to ‘protect young from money woes’ – Gulf Digital News

UAE Business: Financial literacy key to ‘protect young from money woes’ – Gulf Digital News

The teaching of financial literacy in schools and homes is crucial to safeguarding teenagers from the money worries plaguing their young adult elders, according to a British teacher-turned-FinTech entrepreneur.

Dubai resident Simon Wing says ‘the clock is ticking on plugging a youth financial literacy chasm’. 

Commenting on findings of the ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey (AYS) published in October where most 18-24-year-olds in the Arab world cited an inability to save and a struggle to cover expenses, as well as concerns about personal debt. 

“These findings confirm what my business partner and I uncovered during our teaching careers – that financial education for children is ‘missing in action’ from most curricula. Plugging this gap is the founding ethos of Edfundo, the smart money management app for kids and teens which we will launch imminently in the UAE. 

“We feel strongly that we need to act now and treat this as a wake-up call for parents, educators and society at large if we want future generations to enter the workplace and adulthood with solid financial skills which will fend off worries.” 

In face-to-face interviews conducted by the annual survey, now in its 13th year, just over a fifth (21%)