For Nigeria’s economy to witness the much-needed prosperity, the country needs to build a crop of financially literate individuals among its population, Hakeem Ajisafe, chief executive officer of Transblue Nigeria Limited, has said.
According to him, Nigeria needs businesses and other private sector operators to invest in financial literacy education.
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Speaking in Lagos recently at the graduation ceremony of the FinGreen cohort 2, a financial literacy programme, Ajisafe said investments such as the QNET’s FinGreen empowerment programme where Nigerian youths were empowered to be financially literate will continue to impact the country’s economy positively.
He said that it ensures that people acquire the right financial knowledge that can help them make the right decisions.
Ajisafe said the vision for FinGreen is beyond training 6,000, adding that what the training looks out for in financial literacy is to enable Nigerian citizens to drive Nigeria’s economic growth.
“One of the things that came to mind when we started this programme was that apart from training people to be financially literate, we need to set examples for others to see that if we truly want to raise people to help others to start. We are helping them to start, and we are hoping that in the future, they would have made enough money to help others as well to continue to grow,” he said.
Laja Shoniran, a financial literacy expert and facilitator for the FinGreen programme, said the course is very critical to every aspect of one’s life as a people and a nation.
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According to him, one of the major problems Nigeria and Africa face today is born out of the poor financial illiteracy of her leaders, adding that leaders are not abreast with the need to invest in financial education.
Shoniran said there is a need to continue to let people know the need for financial education without it because cannot grow the economy.
Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, executive director for CADEF, lauded the initiative and the sponsors’ dedication to bringing about change in local areas.
Okafor said the programme is important as it bridges the financial literacy gap among Nigerians.
“This is an amazing programme that not only educates young individuals on financial literacy but also emphasises the importance of wealth in all aspects of life. It encourages participants to be wealthy physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually, focusing on leaving behind a positive legacy in their environment,” she said.
On her part, Glory Adeshemowo, the best student for the second round of the programme and winner of the N1 million seed money, said the training she received had improved her financial literacy and that she would use the prize money to invest and support her business.
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The second cohort of the Fingreen empowerment programme witnessed the graduation of 25 Nigerian youths. The top three students received over N2 million in awards from QNET, in collaboration with Transblue Limited, Financial Literacy for All, and Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF).
The winner received N1 million, the second person received N750,000, and the third-place person was awarded N500,000.
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