FDB’s Money $mart surpasses mark

The Fiji Development Bank (FDB) funded “Money $mart” program continued its success in 2014 with a staggering $628,398 in savings and investments. In a report from the Ministry of Education, savings and investments from the program increased by 38.6% from $453,302 in 2013. “Money $mart” and “Invest $mart” programs are complementary financial programs supported by the Bank to encourage students in third and fourth form to learn about budgeting, financial planning, saving and the best ways to invest those savings.  The programs were introduced into the school curriculum in 2007 and 2011, respectively. They were geared towards helping students develop skill of managing personal finance, making informed decisions, keeping relevant records and sustaining good and healthy financial lifestyles at an early stage.  In October 2013, FDB renewed its commitment through a memorandum of understanding with the ministry committing $73,584 to the monitoring and evaluation of the resource materials as well as the students’ savings and investment in addition to financing the ongoing training and upskilling of the teachers who teach both programs. The MOU assured the Bank’s continuous sponsorship of the programs from 2013 until 2015.  The ‘Money $mart’ program won the 2011 ADFIAP “Outstanding Development Project Award” for Human Capital Development.