The Challenge
- Only 0,5% of population in Russia plan their personal or family budget more than for 1 year ahead
- More than 70% of people don’t have any kind of insurance
- About 70% of people don’t know what to do about their future pensions
- 40% of population don’t use bank products
- 40% of active population believe that government return them their investments in the case of failure
IBLF Involvement
Main goals of Financial literacy program by IBLF are:
- Increase awareness of financial literacy and its benefits;
- Encourage people to engage with financial information and resources and take ownership of their sustainable future;
- Help to obtain knowledge, skills and willingness to make competent financial decisions;
- Improve business effectiveness, market sustainability, fairness, confidence, and growth of economy.
The Program include the following activities:
Web site www.azbukafinansov.ru
- Free on-line consultations
- Lessons and manuals for students and teachers;
- Information for adults about saving, credits, investments, budgeting, pensions, credit stories, bank services, consumers rights and responsibilities;
- Financial literacy for small business
- Useful web sites and resources on financial literacy
Financial literacy education for employees
- seminars and consultations (on-line and in-person) on personal finance regarding:
- Personal financial planning
- Russian and foreign investment instruments
- Credits and financial risks of personal insolvency
- Insurance
- Pension plans
- Personal taxation etc.
Publications on Financial Literacy
- A book for pupils on personal finance and a manual for teachers
- A book for students and adults on personal finance
- Articles in leading newspapers and magazines
Financial literacy events
- Round tables for experts in financial literacy
- Annual conferences on financial literacy
Financial literacy research projects
- Financial literacy measurement
- Current initiatives in financial literacy etc.
Cooperation with other web-sites on financial literacy
- Materials exchange
- Editing help
- References exchange etc.
Progress to date in Russia
- more than 150 000 people have visited www.azbukafinansov.ru
- over 400 visitors have used on-line consultations on personal finance
- 2 major companies have introduced corporate consultations on personal finance, over 150 employees have been advised on effective personal finance management
- books “Financial Literacy” aimed at students and adults and "Financial Literacy for Schollchildren" have been published and is available at www.azbukafinansov.ru for free download
- a study of the level of financial literacy has been conducted
- 2 major conferences devoted to financial literacy have been conducted with the number of visitors exceeding 300 people
Contacts: Natalia Smirnova, Financial Literacy Programme Manager, editor of educational web-portal (www.azbukafinansov.ru), Natalia.Smirnova@iblf.ru