Financial Education for refugees, IDPs and host communities: New addition to the ILO’s Financial Education programme
On October 16th, ILO’s financial education certified trainers completed a validation workshop for the new training programme “Financial Education for refugees, internally displaced persons and host communities”.
The main objective of the validation workshop was to finalise the financial education training materials with inputs from strategic partners in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. The workshop started with a presentation on ILO’s international programme on financial education and ongoing process of adaptation of materials for PROSPECTS in programme countries.
Through training needs assessment conducted prior to the workshop, participants had the opportunity to share the most relevant issues to be included and highlighted in the training manuals. Over 40 people from various backgrounds participated in the workshop, including financial services providers (FSP), business development services providers, regulators, NGOs and UNHCR. They also contributed greatly to the definition of the four fictional characters that will be used in the manual to illustrate situations of various financial individuals.
The materials are designed to be conducted using a participatory approach through techniques such as role-plays, case studies, brainstorming, and small group discussions. The fictional characters are part of the methodology and stimulate discussions around tangible issues. The curricula are designed to be delivered in classroom training or online sessions. The participatory approach makes the training suitable for both adult learners and those with limited formal education. The materials can be used by a wide range of partner agencies working with the target groups. The modular approach leaves room for further adaptation to alternative dissemination channels such as videos, podcasts, street theatres and SMS campaigns.
Under PROSPECTS, the Financial Education intervention aims at equipping future trainers with knowledge and skills in finance so they can ultimately help forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and host communities to make informed financial decisions such as better budget planning, increase of savings, promotion of prudent spending, wise borrowing and appropriate risk management decisions but also to understand FSPs’ expectations and how to answer them.
The financial education intervention is complemented by capacity building and technical assistance to FDPs so that they can serve this segment sustainably and offer training on business development. As ILO’s research in Uganda has shown, financial inclusion and entrepreneurship training have proven to lead to higher profits for micro and small enterprises.
This new Financial Education programme is part of the ILO’s Financial Education Programme and of the PROSPECTS Partnership.
Through training needs assessment conducted prior to the workshop, participants had the opportunity to share the most relevant issues to be included and highlighted in the training manuals. Over 40 people from various backgrounds participated in the workshop, including financial services providers (FSP), business development services providers, regulators, NGOs and UNHCR. They also contributed greatly to the definition of the four fictional characters that will be used in the manual to illustrate situations of various financial individuals.
The materials are designed to be conducted using a participatory approach through techniques such as role-plays, case studies, brainstorming, and small group discussions. The fictional characters are part of the methodology and stimulate discussions around tangible issues. The curricula are designed to be delivered in classroom training or online sessions. The participatory approach makes the training suitable for both adult learners and those with limited formal education. The materials can be used by a wide range of partner agencies working with the target groups. The modular approach leaves room for further adaptation to alternative dissemination channels such as videos, podcasts, street theatres and SMS campaigns.
Under PROSPECTS, the Financial Education intervention aims at equipping future trainers with knowledge and skills in finance so they can ultimately help forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and host communities to make informed financial decisions such as better budget planning, increase of savings, promotion of prudent spending, wise borrowing and appropriate risk management decisions but also to understand FSPs’ expectations and how to answer them.
The financial education intervention is complemented by capacity building and technical assistance to FDPs so that they can serve this segment sustainably and offer training on business development. As ILO’s research in Uganda has shown, financial inclusion and entrepreneurship training have proven to lead to higher profits for micro and small enterprises.
“We are now finalizing the training material and getting ready for the very first online “Training of Trainers” in one of the PROSPECTS countries in the coming weeks. More information will be available on our website.” Yousra Hamed, Financial Inclusion Technical Specialist, ILO
This new Financial Education programme is part of the ILO’s Financial Education Programme and of the PROSPECTS Partnership.