Edfundo, the world’s first teacher-built money management app for kids and teens, is spotlighting the critical need to embed financial management as a key competency in today’s youth following worrying trends highlighted in the recent ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey 2021.The survey reinforces the findings of similar UK and US studies where over 50% of non-retired adults are shown to worry daily about
debt.
Fuelled by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic the debt concern trend is accelerating, with the Arab Youth Survey flagging that a frightening 71% of 18-to-24-year olds are now concerned about their personal finances.
The 2020 picture in the UK Statista Research data indicated 43% of the same age group, increasing to 52% of 25 to 44 year olds, hold similar fears, and, in the same period, the Pew Research Center reported that 51% of all US non-retirees fear that current economic conditions have dashed their hopes of achieving their financial goals.
The Arab Youth Survey warns of a deteriorating position, as over a third of the 18 to 24 group struggle to meet their monthly outgoings, and 42% have no opportunity to save for the future even if they can cover their commitments.
Co-founder and CEO of Edfundo, Simon Wing sees the level of financial fear and uncertainty amongst the younger generations as a crisis in the making. “With data now telling us that even in the affluent west more than half of those under retirement age worry about their financial future, we cannot just sit back as the unease among Generation Z is even greater, and the prospect of longer term financial uncertainty inevitably more intense still, with nearly half reporting that they are simply unable to save and invest for their futures.”
With backgrounds in teaching, Wing, and fellow Edfundo founder, Andrew Toward, are responding to the financial education imperative through the in-built experience-based learning of their Edfundo App platform.
“Edfundo is not just another payment option for kids and teens to make purchases,” says Wing. “It’s a whole financial education model to enable young people to develop money management skills under the watchful eyes, and control, of their parents. Experience tells us that learning on the job is the most effective way of educating, and that is precisely what we are striving to do with Edfundo. We are calling on others in the sector to do the same with a determination that future generations will be better equipped to handle economic disruptions and establish more stable personal financial stability.”
Scheduled for imminent launch in the United Arab Emirates, Edfundo is partnering with schools in the Arabian Gulf region to drive the initiative forward.
Notes to Editors
Image of Simon Wing and Andrew Toward attached
