The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee of Nigeria, on Thursday, October 31, 2019, joined the rest of the world to commemorate the World Savings Day.

Themed “Savings Give Life a Lift”, the engagement events across 565 local governments, reached over 80,809 students in 642 schools to increase public awareness and empower them with information on the importance of building a good savings culture, both for their financial future, as well as encouraging a sense of discipline and planning.

This initiative also encompasses the CBN AND the Bankers’ Committee’s drive to bridge financial literacy and inclusion, particularly for children in Nigeria. As part of activities marking the 2019 World Savings Day, Bank CEOs and their employees visited schools across the country to tutor and mentor students and youths on the transformative power of imbibing a good savings culture.

Read also: How early savings culture can help create a better future for children

Speaking on the initiative, Emeka Emuwa, chairman, Financial Literacy and Public Enlightenment Sub-Committee (FLPE), said, “The importance of educating young Nigerians on the benefits of a good savings culture cannot be overemphasised. We are proud to see the financial institutions in Nigeria take up the task of mentoring, educating, and empowering young Nigerians with critical information on building a savings culture, and increasing awareness on the importance of earning, managing and saving money in order to have a secure future. Many of these students are our future Bankers and as such we will continue to develop programmes and activities that will further empower them.”

Financial inclusion is a constituent pillar of the Bankers’ Committee mandate, making initiatives like this critical to the goal of increasing the number of financially included citizens in the country. The World Savings Day is observed annually across the globe to raise awareness on the importance of building a good savings culture, aimed squarely at ensuring the next generation is empowered with important financial awareness and literacy, needed to enhance economic prosperity and continue to improve poverty reduction.

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.

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