As part of its continuous efforts to enhance financial literacy especially among the younger generation in Malaysia, Maybank’s Cashville Kidz has successfully reached out to over 7,000 students and some 100 educators from 21 schools across the country in 2020. In a year that was mainly impacted by the pandemic, the programme remained focused on increasing the level of financial literacy to nearly 40%, and surpassing its initial target of engaging 4,000 students.
To reinforce the importance of financial literacy among students, Maybank once again held its Financial Education Excellence Awards this year to appreciate educators and students who have displayed dedication and extraordinary efforts in promoting and championing it in the country. In its second edition, the awards programme also aims to further create awareness about the importance of financial literacy amongst Malaysians - in line with the National Strategy for Financial Literacy 2019-2023.
In his opening remarks at the awards ceremony, Tan Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, Chairman of Maybank said, “Financial literacy and education is often regarded as the pre-cursor towards greater financial inclusion. Therefore, the continuation of the Cashville Kidz financial literacy programme is crucial in empowering our communities with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage their finances in the future.”
He added, “This programme was designed to improve knowledge of children especially in the rural areas and from marginalised families on the importance of income and expense planning, thus bridging the gaps for our youths to ensure mastery of financial literacy and potentially becoming future leaders in their respective fields.”
The Maybank Cashville Kidz programme is accorded co-curriculum status by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, and is recognised and endorsed by key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia, National Bank of Cambodia, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the Central Bank of Philippines).
Shahril Azuar Jimin, CEO of Maybank Foundation said, “It is encouraging to see Cashville Kidz continuing to achieve its objectives in Malaysia although the usual school and classroom environments were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We pushed forward by being innovative in rolling out our programmes to schools via digital learning and gamification of Cashville Kidz. The shift towards online teaching and learning today shouldn’t deter the push for stronger financial literacy in our communities.”
“Although we set an initial target of 4,000 students, the programme managed to reach out to more than 7,020 students in 21 schools and trained more than 105 teachers in 2020. Furthermore, since its introduction in Malaysia, the programme has positively impacted more than 192,630 students in over 838 schools with more than 1,743 teachers trained.”
Other guests of honour present at the virtual awards ceremony included the Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Abu Hassan Alshari Yahaya; Director of Sports, Co-curriculum & Arts pision, Ministry of Education, Zainal Abas; Founder & CEO, MoneyTree Asia Pacific Ltd, Michael Reyes; members of the Maybank Board and Board of Trustees of Maybank Foundation.
The winners of three categories of awards presented at the Maybank Financial Education Excellence Awards ceremony this year were:
- Best School Award - Sekolah Kebangsaan Kerubong, Melaka
(Awarded to the school that displayed exemplary leadership, vision and willingness in driving the Financial Literacy agenda in their school) - Best Educator Award - Cikgu Mohd Hafiz bin Mungin from Sekolah Kebangsaan Jalan U3, Subang Perdana, Selangor
(Awarded to an educator who displayed extraordinary dedication and commitment during Maybank’s Cashville Kidz financial literacy programme) - Best Student Award - Siti Farzana Afrina binti Hasnol from Sekolah Kebangsaan King George V, Negeri Sembilan
(Awarded to the student who achieved the highest post- assessment score in the Cashville Kidz programme and being a financial literacy role model among peers)
Originally piloted in Malaysia in 2013, the Cashville Kidz programme together with our programme partner MoneyTree Asia Pacific Ltd has now been expanded to Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore and the Philippines. The programme has been successful with more than 225,000 school students in more than 940 schools across the region benefiting to date, exceeding its target of having 50% of participating students improving their financial knowledge.
Maybank Foundation is the corporate responsibility arm of the Maybank Group, which seeks to positively impact communities in markets that Maybank operates. The Foundation’s programs are focused on six key pillars which are Education, Community Empowerment, Healthy Living, Arts & Culture, Environmental persity & Disaster Relief.