“A person either disciplines his finances or his finances discipline him.”
Financial literacy is a gold mine. It helps people manage their financial affairs and improve their standard of living. Also, it contributes to the soundness and efficiency of the financial system and the economy’s performance.
To advance this conversation on financial literacy, we had a conversation with FXPesa CEO Samwel Kiraka, and according to him, financial literacy is understanding the dynamics of the economy.
“FXPesa is a product name for our retail clients. We offer a platform to traders who want to trade in global markets, currencies, commodities, indices, and precious metals like gold & crude oil. Global & local shares are also inclusive,” Kiraka notes
As the CEO posits, the co-mandate of FXPesa is to equip people with financial literacy, and they have given themselves a target to educate two million people by the end of four years.
“Financial literacy sets a basis of information around financial markets, how to save, differentiate between an asset and an investment, train people around scams and recognize good investment opportunities. That is most of what we cover during our financial literacy classes,” Kiraka states.
The company currently has over 150,000 people who have gone through the program. They also started a university financial literacy program in 2020 and have so far talked to over 600,000 students across Kenya and initiated physical camps in universities where students educate each other and learn how to use the FXPesa platform.
“When we started the business, we realized a gap in the education system. Having gone through college, college did not provide us units around saving and investment,” Kiraka states.
According to the CEO, they saw that as an opportunity hence why they talk to people about their products and elements of ethics; a culture around saving, investing to generate wealth over the long term, and helping to fight inflation.
The company offers physical classes at its head offices in Thika, Kitengela, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Eastleigh.
“Our training facilities run from Monday to Saturday for our potential clients and those who are not. On social media, you-tube videos and podcasts are coming out weekly; we talk about market trends, inflation, global investment opportunities, and what happens in the west,” he notes
On challenges, the CEO notes that they see the challenges faced as opportunities citing the increase in the number of people interested in learning.
He says that sometimes the turnout is more significant than the secured space, which he notes is a good challenge for it points to the need to expand.
“Our company is relatively new. We have been here for four years as a regulated company, so we cannot reach as many people as we want,” Kiraka notes
On whether something can be done to open up local investors to international markets, he says, “even as we look at international markets and how to develop this in Kenya, it is critical to start with what you have locally and then allow it to grow internationally patiently.”
He acknowledges instances where investors get into investments they don’t understand and lose money and states that they do not want to see that in the FXPesa program.
“So please learn about investment through our classes to help you pick out a good investment opportunity,” he notes
He reminds anyone that wants to think about investment that it is not about the quantum of money. It is about saving, persistence, and consistency.
“Clients can put money as low as 5000shillings to 2000shillings aside monthly to grow. It encourages you to start where you are and with what you have. However, getting the training is essential; it takes time to be a doctor, so it will take one to two weeks to walk the journey, learn and grow with us.” He concludes
