KUWAIT: With the official kick-off of the “Bankee” program during this school year, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) organized a special visit to Um Atiya Ansariya Elementary School - Girls. During the visit, NBK’s executive management followed up the latest updates on the implementation on the program, which aims to promote financial literacy among government and private schools’ students, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority “Nazaha” and Creative Confidence.

The visitors included Isam Al-Sager, Vice-Chairman and Group CEO of National Bank of Kuwait, accompanied by Maryam Al-Enezi, Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Development at the Ministry of Education, and Eng. Abrar Al- Hammad, Assistant Secretary-General of the Prevention Sector at Nazaha. A large number of parents of participating students attended the visit and discussed the program’s benefits with their children, who expressed their pleasure to see significant improvements in their children’s financial behavior and knowledge, and also engaged in discussions with teachers about the program’s impact on the students.

During the visit, the participants reviewed all the details of implementing the “Bankee” program, from the experience of the virtual bank that allows students to have a financial account in which they can trade using the “Bankos” virtual currency, and how students receive bonuses as a result of accumulating the program’s currency in their accounts. They also visited the classrooms to see how the program has become part of the daily life of students in the classroom, and how they receive bonuses for academic excellence and positive behaviors.

Having achieved a remarkable success in its pilot phase, “Bankee” encouraged more schools and students to join it. Out of 150 applicants, 30 schools have been enrolled in the program so far, in addition to a special needs school for learning difficulties (Joan Al Kuwait Elementary School), with a total of 15,000 students and 4,000 teachers.

“Bankee”also launched its website 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. Speaking on this, Isam Al-Sager said, “We are happy with the great impact that the “Bankee” program is making within the Kuwaiti educational system, by actively helping to promote financial literacy and inclusion among the students of government and private schools in Kuwait.”

“Providing our children with financial knowledge is an investment into the future, as providing them with the skills to make well-advised financial decisions puts them on the path of success and progress,” he added. “The program aims to give school students access to the financial knowledge they need to be able to make sound financial decisions throughout their lives,” he noted.

Al-Sager explained that sponsoring “Bankee” aligns with NBK’s broader objective of promoting financial inclusion among all segments of society saying, “NBK utilizes all its extensive capabilities and financial experience to actively contribute to promoting awareness regarding financial stability and independence for this generation of the Kuwaiti youth.” 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.

“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 Nazaha, with a view to promote financial inclusion, especially among school students, to improve sustainable financial literacy among all members of society in the future. The program’s primary goal is to introduce students to core financial concepts such as earning, spending, saving, and financial responsibilities. This objective is achieved by employing applied learning and gamification techniques to simulate a real-world economy within the classroom.