As part of the 2023 Global Money Week celebrations themed ” Plan your money, Plant your Future,” JA Africa, with support from Prudence Foundation, organized a financial literacy roadshow. The event introduced financial literacy concepts of Earn, Save, Spend, and Donate to 250 primary school students in Lagos leveraging JA Africa’s new Financial Literacy TV series, The Cha-Ching Money Show with Adanna and Emeka.
The roadshow allowed the children in attendance to watch episodes of the series and engage with the show’s teen hosts, Adanna Okoli and Emeka Nwogugu. Alongside the show’s screening, the students got more insights on developing good financial habits from a panel discussion with speakers including Arese Ugwu, Author/Producer, The Smart Money Woman; Samson Akintaro, Tech Analyst, Nairametrics and Eno Adesuwa Eworo, Architect/Lead, CapturedByAdesuwa and moderated by the hosts of the show.
In her keynote address, Arese Ugwu emphasized the need for self-awareness as a potent strategy for earning, stating that it is difficult for young people to thrive without identifying what they are genuinely passionate about. She said, “For you to earn, you need to understand what your strengths are, what you are good at. Ask yourself, what are the things that come naturally to me and how can I hone these skills? Focus on things you are passionate about. ”
Arese further stated that financial discipline is central to spending wisely and having a clear direction of where you want your money to go is a must-have skill. She, however, advised the pupils to embrace good saving habits as this is important to living a financially healthy life.
“Money earned is not about spending only, you need to keep aside a certain proportion for savings. Do not spend before saving, save before spending”. She added.
Speaking at the roadshow, JA Africa’s CEO, Simi Nwogugu, reiterated the significance of organizing the financial literacy roadshow and why young people should have financial literacy skills. Simi encouraged the students to practice the key financial lessons they have learned while also admonishing them to dream big and pursue their dreams.
“Anything is possible, dream big dreams and work towards achieving them.” She said.
Global Money Week is celebrated in march every year to raise awareness of Economic Citizenship and directly engage children and youth worldwide on the issue. Financial literacy is one of the key focus areas of JA Africa, and The Cha-Ching Money Show with Adanna and Emeka is the newest addition to JA Africa’s proven financial literacy programs. The show reinforces the financial literacy concepts taught in the Cha-Ching cartoon through wraparound sessions with young teenage African hosts Adanna Okoli and Emeka Nwogugu and includes games, activities, and interviews with special guests.
A new episode of the show is released weekly on Fridays at 5 pm GMT/6 pm WAT on YouTube (@juniorachievementafrica). The show airs in Nigeria every Saturday on the following television channels: OSBC (10:00 am WAT), and OGTV (10:00 am WAT), ONTV (08:00 am WAT), LTV (10:00 am WAT). In Ghana, the show airs on Saturdays on GNTV Junior (9:30 am GMT).
About Junior Achievement Africa
JA Africa is one of Africa’s largest and most-impactful youth-serving NGOs. JA Africa’s mission is to prepare Africa’s youth for the future of jobs. Through the delivery of hands-on, blended learning in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship, we empower young people to grow their entrepreneurial ideas, hone their work skills, manage their earnings and secure better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities. JA Africa has a presence in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and collectively reaches over 300,000 youth in more than 3,000 schools each year. Learn more at www.ja-africa.org.
