2019 Cambodia Global Money Week
LEADING ORGANISATIONS:
- National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)
PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS:
- 14 Schools, Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS)
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED DIRECTLY:
- Not reported
NUMBER OF PEOPLE REACHED INDIRECTLY:
- Not reported
National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)
GMW2019 in Cambodia started before the official Week and continued long after. The National Bank (NBC) conducted three promotional activities, included the distribution of the comic book “Let’s Talk Money” and promoting financial literacy during the National Reading Day. Additionally, the NBC, together with the Banking Association, organised a one-day workshop to raise awareness of the importance of using local currency for Cambodian economic development, the current status of the Association and its future, and to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the local currency.
2017 Cambodia Global Money Week
LEADING AND PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS:
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED DIRECTLY:
- 1.5 million Cambodians through Public Service Announcements, TV, social media networks, radio, SMS and face-to-face educational sessions in schools and factories generating 26,800 household conversations about campaign messages
GMW2017 focused on recognizing the important role of the financial system in social and economic development, as well as the benefits of sustainable financial inclusion. Despite significant progress during the last three decades, expanding financial inclusion in Cambodia has been particularly difficult with a number of challenges impeding their efforts, including consumer protection, wanting to reduce personal unmanageable debt, confusing or misleading new products, and difficulties in reaching remote clients. The optimal balance between financial inclusion and financial stability had to be addressed and it could be done by means of financial education and strengthening financial capability.
Out of recognition of both financial inclusion and financial stability, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) cooperated with Good Return to organise a Financial Consumer Awareness campaign called “Let’s Talk Money” which fell within the annual celebrations of Global Money Week. This 3-month campaign was launched in the last quarter of 2016, with the aim of reaching 30,000 people and provoking 6,000 ongoing dialogues with its audience. In the first three months, the Campaign reached nearly 1.5 million Cambodians of all ages through Public Service Announcements, TV, social media networks, radio, SMS and face-to-face educational sessions in schools and factories. It was expected to have generated 26,800 household conversations about the campaign messages.
To celebrate GMW2017, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) achieved two remarkable milestones. Building on the immense success of the Let’s Talk Money Campaign, the NBC is continuing its partnership with Good Return to extend the campaign, and produced the Financial Education Comic Book as additional reading material for children aged between 8-12 years old. This comic book was officially launched on 28 February 2017 at Daun Penh Primary School with around 400 participants from banks and financial institutions, development partners, teachers, students and other relevant stakeholders. On top of that, the NBC partnered with other development partners and sponsors to further promote the ‘Let’s Talk Money’ topics by running different projects such as University Project, Radio Talk Show, and field visits to primary schools.
Financial education is increasingly becoming a top priority when advancing financial inclusion in Cambodia. The continued distribution of the ‘Let’s Talk Money’ Comic Book during Global Money Week marked an important initial step in the cooperation between the NBC and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in working towards integrating financial education into the school curriculum from grades 1-12. The joint goal was to have the financial literacy programme embedded in the formal education programme so that students become exposed to financial information at an early age. With close cooperation between the two institutions, four subjects – Life Skills, Home Economics, Mathematics, and Social Study – have been identified as the most relevant financial subjects.
2016 Cambodia Money Week
LEADING ORGANISATIONS:
PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS:
DATE OF THE EVENT:
- 14th – 16th of March
TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH ENGAGED:
- 800
In light of Global Money Week 2015's success as a stepping stone for extending financial literacy within the country, the National Bank of Cambodia's H.E. Chea Serey, Director General of Central Banking, continued to take the lead in Cambodia's 2016 aim to the build capacity of officials and youth leaders to promote financial education. A workshop for officials of the Central Bank and student leaders from across the country was facilitated, concentrated on how to implement and roll-out initiatives that matter, are effective, and address the Cambodian younger generation's needs. The National Bank of Cambodia also worked with the Cambodia Microfinance Association to identify key stakeholders from microfinance institutions in Cambodia who were be invited to receive the same training.
The Cambodia Microfiance Assocation also partnered with the KREDIT Microfinance Institution to advance financial education by organising a series of school visits where they presented the basic concepts of money management, wise money spending habits, the importance of savings and instilling a stronger sense of entrepreneurship amongst primary and secondary school students.
2015 Cambodia Money Week
PARTICIPANTS:
- National Bank of Cambodia
- Cambodia Microfinance Association
- Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
- Good Return - Cambodia
DATE OF THE EVENT:
- 9th – 13th of March
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED:
- 600
2015 marked a significant step for the microfinance field in Cambodia as the National Bank of Cambodia took the lead in celebrating Global Money Week. This is in line with the capacity building initiatives the National Bank of Cambodia launched in February.
For Global Money Week, the National Bank of Cambodia organised a series of conferences and workshops named "Financial Inclusion: Building Awareness, Mutual Respect, and Consumer Confidence". In these workshops and seminars, they brought together various stakeholders to discuss the importance of financial inclusion and financial literacy for all, and how it could be pursued in Cambodia. The sessions aimed at building a solid understanding of microfinance and savings amongst all stakeholders from the adult and current users of financial products to the young and future economic actors in the country. The initiatives were supported by various microfinance institutions which were members of the Cambodia Microfinance Association. Technical expertise for these initiatives was provided by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and Good Return - Cambodia.
H.E. Chea Serey, Director General of Central Banking at the National Bank of Cambodia, highlighted that although Cambodia had made advancements in the microfinance sector, there were a number of citizens who still accessed finance through informal lending where interest rates were high and debt collection practices were unethical and abusive. She noted that this had contributed to the demise of Cambodian families - be it the old or the new generation. She therefore stressed that these initiatives were crucial in ensuring that appropriate knowledge was absorbed by both legitimate financial service providers and consumers. She mentioned that the National Bank of Cambodia had the greatest appreciation for the ongoing "promotion of financial inclusion and financial literacy in Cambodia".
Following the tradition set in the previous years, financial institutions, including Cambodia Public Bank PRASAC Microfinance, and KREDIT Microfinance, organised multiple activities in schools. These included visits to their offices, visioning contests, conducting learning-by-doing lessons, and sessions that underlined the importance of saving to secure a safer tomorrow for the young who would become Cambodia's future financial actors.
2014 Cambodia Money Week
PARTICIPANTS:
- National Bank of Cambodia
- Cambodia Microfinance Association
- KREDIT Microfinance Institution
- PRASAC Microfinance Institution
- ANZ Royal
- Cambodian Public Bank
DATE OF THE EVENT:
- 11th – 14th of March
NUMBER OF CHILDREN REACHED:
- 900
PRESS:
The National Bank of Cambodia in collaboration with KREDIT Microfinance Institution, PRASAC Microfinance Institution ANZ Royal and Cambodian Public Bank celebrated GMW. Activities included an IQ & dream visioning contest, financial training for families and children, and a bank tour.
In collaboration with National Bank of Cambodia, PRASAC Microfinance Institution organised a dream visualization workshop, where children and youth painted their future dreams. Subsequently, the participants were then divided into groups of 5, where groups debated with each other about how they could save to achieve their aspirations. Winners of the debate received awards. 25 members of a youth group and another 250 participants including pupils, teachers, National Bank of Cambodia representatives, Cambodia Microfinance Association representatives, PRASAC representatives and relevant stakeholders were present at this 4 day event. The competition was divided into 3 sections: first section was general information about using money, the second section comprised of an intellectual test, and the third section, the debate named ‘the dream comes true’. 5 teams presented their plan and the way to implement this plan successfully. PRASAC encouraged these teams by giving a prize to winner of this competition and other gifts to teachers and students along with a financial support package for the school too.
The Cambodian Public Bank hosted a field trip for high school students, age 16-18 years, where 30 youth and their teachers participated in the activity. The purpose of the tour was to give the students a better understanding of the banking environment, how banks operate and the importance of financial education. The lessons included reasons to save, information about loans and effective ways of handling money.
The local staff of KREDIT Microfinance Institution in collaboration with National Bank of Cambodia organised financial training with their clients and non-clients. The event focused on finance's general principles and the sharing of everyday tools. A portion of the training was dedicated to beginning a dialogue between participants and trainers. Parallel to the Financial Literacy Training, financial and entrepreneurial training was organised for children and youth by KREDIT. There was also a painting competition with a financial theme. The best paintings selected were show-cased to all participants.
ANZ Royal organised guided tours of its branches for children and youth, where the branch managers gave the participants an overview of banking activities. The tours were followed by discussions between bankers and youth on topics such as the role of banks in society and the importance of financial education in pursuing career ambitions. ANZ Royal branches Reap and Sihanoukville opened their doors to groups of bright young students from Cambodian NGOs (PSE, Feeding Dream of Cambodia and M’Lop Tapang). The students were given a tour of ANZ Royal exposing them to the professional working environment. They also got the opportunity to attend a meet and greet with some of the ANZ Royal’s team from all levels of the company. All the students were given the chance to sit down for a Q&A session, where the overview of banking and the importance of education and career ambitions were further shared and discussed in detail.
2013 Cambodia Money Week
NAME OF THEE ORGANISING ENTITIES:
- Cambodia Microfinance Association's Partners
- MEF; University of Management and Economic
DATE OF THE EVENT:
- 15th - 21st of March
Through collaboration between Cambodia Microfinance Association, MEF and the University of Management and Economics, a workshop for students on Microfinance Development and Labor Market was organised. The purpose of the workshop was to raise the awareness of students on Microfinance Development in Cambodia, its products and services. Workshops prepared youth for employment in a microfinance institution by giving them interview preparation and by sharing experiences on how to be successful in one's line of work.