05 May 2018
Maybank Foundation to Expand Cashville Kidz Financial Literacy Programme to Public School In Cambodia
- Animated cartoon series to reach over 20,000 students in 4 years
After the successful completion of its pilot phase of the Maybank Cashville Kidz Financial Literacy Programme in Cambodia, Maybank Foundation today is carrying out the commitment to expand the programme under Phase 2 to public schools in the country.
The award winning Cashville Kidz programme which was created and produced by MoneyTree Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, is endorsed by the National Bank of Cambodia and aims to address the need for Financial Education in schools and is in line with the Foundation’s objective to champion financial literacy across ASEAN by educating school students via an animated series.
The roll out of the second phase of this programme in Cambodia comes following the success of the pilot programme which was introduced in February 2017 and targeted at eight schools in Phnom Penh. It has now been endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to be expanded throughout public schools in Cambodia. More than 3,000 students are expected to benefit under this new phase. To date, we have reached out to nearly 1,000 students and have managed to see significant improvement in financial literacy in the eight schools that participated in the pilot programme.
Today, Maybank Foundation announced the immediate rolling out of the Cashville Kidz programme to public schools, a step forward in accomplishing a 4-year plan for the programme, where the programme ultimately aims to reach 20,000 students in 40 schools across the country. The Public School Teachers’ Briefing today marks an important milestone for Maybank Cambodia and Maybank Foundation, which would help further in ensuring the next generation of kids and youths are well equipped with the financial knowledge they would need to thrive in today’s world.
The Public School Teachers’ Briefing today saw representatives from 10 public schools across Phnom Penh. Present at the event were Director General, Central Banking, National Bank of Cambodia, H.E. Chea Serey and Deputy Director General from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Dr. Mok Sarom. Also present at the event were CEO of Maybank Cambodia, Dato’ Mohd Hanif Suadi together with CEO of Maybank Foundation, Shahril Azuar Jimin and the Marketing Director of MoneyTree Asia Pacific, Brandon Liew.
Cashville Kidz is an exciting animated cartoon series, which also meets the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4 & 17, was designed to teach school students the importance of money, in order to prepare them to meet future financial challenges they may face. The animated series along with its education programme, focuses on specific financial lessons that range from the importance of saving money to developing positive spending habits and making smart investments.
The cartoon series features four main characters named Penny Wise, Barry Maverick, Sens Andola, and Suzy Spendamore. The series focuses on how each of the characters confronts individual challenges and in the process, develop their personalities and experiences. Targeted at children aged 9 – 12 years, Cashville Kidz aims to make the learning process a fun and educational one at the same time.
The Cashville Kidz programme was initially launched in Malaysia in collaboration with MoneyTree and first aired in February 2013. It was recognised by the Malaysian Ministry of Education as a Flagship Financial Literacy Programme for schools and accepted as an extra co-curricular activity that awards participating students with the compulsory co-curricular points every student requires. Over the course of the last three years, the programme has reached more than 150,000 students from 750 schools across Malaysia.
Cashville Kidz is a flagship initiative of Maybank Foundation aimed at boosting financial literacy amongst school children, and can be easily replicated and upscaled in other countries where Maybank has a presence.
Speaking at the event, Shahril Azuar Jimin, CEO of Maybank Foundation said “We hope this collaboration will propel the Cashville Kidz programme to a new level where the future generations of Cambodian students are not just financially savvy but also understand that the financial strength of each Cambodian will help to strengthen the Cambodia economy as a whole.”
He further added, “We are looking towards a nationwide initiative that would ultimately raise the level of financial awareness and intelligence amongst all communities in Cambodia, with the help of the National Bank of Cambodia, and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia.”
Maybank Foundation is the corporate responsibility arm of the Maybank Group, which seeks to positively impact communities in markets that Maybank operates. The Foundation’s programs are focused on six key pillars which are Education, Community Empowerment, Healthy Living, Arts & Culture, Environmental Diversity & Disaster Relief.
