Manulife launches program to teach kids financial literacy

The insurer partnered with St. James' Settlement for this initiative.

Manulife Hong Kong today announced the full launch of its "FinKids Academy" program in conjunction with its community partner St. James' Settlement (SJS), an initiative that uses innovative technology to help under-resourced children improve their financial literacy, technology know-how and skills to be ready for the hybrid financial world of the future.

The "FinKids Academy" program runs under Manulife's "Go Paperless Education Aid Program" and follows a successful pilot that ran between March and May this year. The program will benefit more than 600 primary school students from 24 local schools providing more than 10,000 learning hours in total.

The program aims to support the children by equipping them with essential skills and knowledge through 10 in-depth workshops that cover topics such as fintech, basic coding, digital money, budgeting, the metaverse and more. Immersive STEM field trips and inter-school sharing sessions will also take place to provide them with a unique and impactful learning experience.

ALSO READ: India’s general insurance industry growth rate sluggish in August

"With the continuous support of SJS, Manulife hopes to continue promoting children's understanding of financial concepts with the use of emerging technologies, helping them to make better financial decisions in the future,” said Calvin Chiu, Manulife's Head of Asia Retirement.

Manulife said that the launch is accompanied by the release of a new survey that reveals misconceptions about digital wallets and a lack of awareness about the importance of saving amongst Hong Kong's younger generation. The survey was distributed in June by SJS, with the results based on interviews with 325 primary school students.

Nearly a quarter of the students thought their money will never be used up (23%), and 18% said they believed their parents' income will not change after retirement. In addition, over half (57%) are not sure about how much they spent on average in a month. Close to two-thirds (62%) said they are not sure about the balance of their digital wallet and a third (33%) did not even know where the money in their digital wallet comes from.

C.C.C. Chuen Yuen First Primary School was one of first schools to join the pilot in March, along with Ching Chung Hau Po Woon Primary School.