Accra, Ghana – November 25, 2020 – JA Africa and Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential in Asia and Africa, announce a new three-year partnership to educate and inspire Africa’s youth on financial literacy through the Cha-Ching program. The Cha-Ching program primarily targets grade 4 and grade 5 students (ages 9-11years), teaching them lessons that focus on four key financial concepts; Earn, Save, Spend and Donate, and provide tools for them to become financially savvy adults.
Since 2016, JA has delivered Cha-Ching in Africa starting in Ghana, then expanding into Zambia, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria, thanks to grant funding through Prudential plc’s Chairman’s Challenge program. Through this renewed partnership, JA Africa will expand the reach of the Cha-Ching program from five to six African countries, with the addition of Côte d’Ivoire.
Following the successful implementation of the teacher-driven program in Zambia, JA Africa will transition from a volunteer-driven approach, to engaging teachers as the primary delivery mechanism. Across the six countries and over the three-year period, JA will reach a total of 57,750 students in 680 schools, through training 1,360 teachers. JA’s country offices will work with the local Education Services and Ministries to identify both public and private schools to deliver the Cha-Ching Curriculum. JA aims to deliver the program primarily in public schools as students in these schools are less likely to have opportunities to access programs like Cha-Ching.
Although the program assumes in-class delivery by teachers, JA Africa recognizes the impact of COVID-19 on global education and the shift to digital learning; hence JA Africa will also aim to provide support to schools to deliver the Cha-Ching program online where feasible.
“Over the last few years, governments across the continent have recognized the growing and critical need to improve access to information and activities that support improved financial literacy among African youth. The Cha-Ching program is squarely in line with national objectives of the six countries to empower their citizens with knowledge, understanding, skills, motivation and confidence to secure positive financial outcomes for themselves and their families”, said Sena Goka, Director of Grants and Programs at JA Africa. “We are excited to partner with Prudence Foundation to continue delivering this impactful program, especially in response to COVID-19 which has created a surge in the number of financially vulnerable people. There is a greater urgency to develop sound financial literacy and habits among African youth for their long-term financial resilience.”
Marc Fancy, Executive Director of the Prudence Foundation expressed his excitement at the new partnership adding that, ”Financial education and understanding is a key life skill, and we strongly believe that providing children with the appropriate foundations and basic understanding around good money values and behavior will help them navigate a sound financial future. We are therefore delighted to expand our partnership with Junior Achievement into Africa and bring financial literacy to thousands of children across the continent through our globally recognized Cha-Ching program.
Through JA Africa’s four-year long partnership with Prudential in Africa in the delivery of the Cha-Ching program, over 5,000 students have benefitted from the program and now have the knowledge and skills to make good decisions regarding their finances. Providing financial education to Africa’s youth creates a path to financial inclusion and encourages greater economic participation in Africa.
