ShareKUWAIT: As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the reach and impact of the “Bankee” program, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has launched a series of short ads on financial literacy and positive behaviors, with the aim of spreading awareness, promoting financial culture, and instilling moral values in the students of private and public schools in Kuwait.
“Bankee” is the first program of its kind in Kuwait, which was officially launched last October by NBK, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha), with a view to promote financial inclusion, especially among school students, to elevate sustainable financial culture among all members of society in the future.
Commenting on this, Asmaa Bin Hussain, Public Relations Officer at National Bank of Kuwait, said, “The program aims to familiarize students with key financial concepts including earning, spending, and saving, and financial responsibilities, through the classroom economy model, which simulates a real-world economy in a practical and interactive manner.” “The series of ads includes short video clips to familiarize students with “Bankee” content and objectives, encourage them to adopt positive behaviors in early educational stage, and instill basic values, like self-development, responsibility, and teamwork spirit. This reflects NBK’s dedication to raising a generation of young Kuwaitis who understand the importance of financial stability and independence and possess the required financial skills and knowledge to contribute to achieving sustainable development and economic welfare for individuals and society,” she explained.
“The video clips focus on many positive values that help raise a new generation on the right foundations, such as integrity, honesty, saving, differentiating between desires and needs, cooperation, cooperation, and kindness,” she added.
Within Bankee activities, NBK’s executive management organizes frequent visits to government and private schools to follow up on the latest updates on the implementation on the program, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Nazaha and Creative Confidence.
These visits see large attendance of the parents of participating students who express their pleasure with the significant improvements in their children’s financial behavior and knowledge, as the program has become part of their daily life in the classroom. Bankee’s remarkable success encouraged more schools and students to join it, with 150 schools applying to join, and a total of 15,000 students and 3,000 teachers enrolled in it. Seeking to enhance the content, Bankee’s website was launched in Arabic and English, as well as social media pages on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, to enable all participants to benefit from the provided content, activities and events held at different schools all year round.
Bankee is designed based on the classroom economy model, which simulates a real-world economy within the classroom. This is done in an innovative and interactive way enabling students and teachers to leverage an online tool to make different financial transactions using “Bankoz”, the program’s digital currency. The program gives students the chance to apply for classroom-specific or school-wide jobs, which offer them an opportunity to earn additional income or salary. Classroom jobs are tailored to each classroom and encompass roles such as attendance monitor or teacher’s assistant. On the other hand, school jobs involve participating in extracurricular activities at the school level, such as joining the student council. The program also instills responsibility and accountability in the student through incorporating financial expenses as an integral part of the program. Students are required to manage their finances by making payments for classroom-related expenses, such as renting desks and paying utility bills such as water and electricity.
Among the central components of Bankee is the Bankee Store, where students can engage in real-life simulated transactions using the virtual currency, Bankoz. It serves as a practical and interactive platform within the classroom economy, allowing students to experience the process of buying tangible and intangible items, thereby enhancing their financial literacy and decision-making skills. The store also offers a wide variety of items and services that are relevant and appealing to students, such as school supplies, toys, stationery, and school privileges.
NBK firmly believes that joint private public sector initiatives to provide the young generation with the required knowledge and skills are instrumental to individual as well as social wellbeing and prosperity. It is worth mentioning that NBK recently received the Bronze Award for its “Bankee” program in the Social, Sustainable & Responsible Banking category, which recognizes the innovations made by institutions to integrate ESG standards into their operations.
Hussain: Ads focus on positive values like integrity, honesty, saving and cooperation
