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UAE-based teachers build world's first financial intelligence hub

The lab offers both free and paid courses on money management for youngsters

Two UAE-based teachers have fused EdTech with FinTech to create the world’s first financial intelligence hub — complete with a learning resource and a smart money management app.

The purpose-built learning resource - Edfundo Learning Lab - comprises a mix of face-to-face and micro online, free, and paid-for educational programmes.

It is designed by Simon Wing and Andrew Toward, co-founders of the Edfundo app and pre-paid debit card which looks to empower youngsters to learn, earn, spend, and save in a cashless society.

Wing, Edfundo’s CEO, says financial illiteracy is rife among children and many adults, making the Learning Lab an essential adjunct to Edfundo’s core product. It ensures that financial education underpins the transformative neobanking business model.

“Throughout our teaching careers in the UK and UAE, my fellow co-founder Andrew Toward and I have found that commitment to tutoring school kids in money management is often hampered by a lack of appropriate teaching tools.

“The Edfundo Learning Lab will help plug the gap at home, online and in the classroom. In tandem, the smart money management app and pre-paid debit card will allow youngsters to put their learning into immediate practice,” Wing said.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based The Aquila School, part of International Schools Partnership (ISP), is the first to join the Edfundo for Schools initiative as an Edfundo Education Partner.

Benjamin Atkins, head of secondary, said The Aquila School is committed to teaching children pressing life issues, including money management skills. “The Aquila School ensures learning is engaging, relevant, and based on real life. Partnering with Edfundo supports this and develops an area of our curriculum that is vital to ensuring lifelong skills and good money management.

“We are excited that our pupils will be the first in the region to take part in the Edfundo Learning Lab, and practice taking responsibility for their own spending and saving habits with the app and pre-paid debit card, knowing parents will have full oversight and control.”

“The Edfundo Learning Lab will also encourage our families to have deeper conversations about the important things in life, as our students nurture positive financial independence.”

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Edfundo’s COO Toward said that parents can also take part in Edfundo’s online and in-classroom micro-learning tips, lessons, and scenarios. Extra-subscription-based step-by-step modules will also provide full-family access to the virtual community environment where learning follows the ‘share, show, do’ model, with storytelling content.

“Our many years of teaching mean Simon and I know children learn by hearing life stories and hands-on experience,” said Toward. “To ensure this content is safe, relevant, and exciting, we are co-creating and curating the financial education content with the Edfundo programme team and specialist mentors.”

The Learning Lab’s content is co-created by a group of multinational specialists led by Wing and Toward, and featuring Bahraini-British GenZ Montessori teacher, Tariq Nasser; Saudi FinTech and business development expert Saleh AlHammad; children’s learning author and former finance executive Will Rainey.

The Edfundo Learning Lab will go live in early March with smart money management tips and facts for public access via social media platforms as well as the Edfundo website www.edfundo.com.

Access to the smart money management app and virtual pre-paid debit card will follow within weeks, with the first availability offered to those signed up to the GoLIVEList also at www.edfundo.com

ismail@khaleejtimes.com