Citibank / Citi Foundation October (2016-Present)
Under the Community-focused Financial Learning and Leadership project, Kenan and Citi Foundation are raising the financial knowledge of members of disadvantaged communities to develop sound saving habits and achieve long-term financial freedom.
The project has partnered with the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI), a public entity that supports low-income communities, to provide financial literacy training to community groups. Furthermore, the project trains CODI staff and community leaders to deliver financial counselling and manage community funds.
By strengthening community groups, the project creates a sustainable ecosystem for individuals to receive high quality financial support.
The project conducted a thorough baseline assessment of the communities in order to develop a financial literacy curriculum that is tailored to the specific needs of community members. Using this context-specific curriculum, the project trained community members on fundamental financial skills, such as accounting, saving, and investing, which have enabled them to manage their money effectively and achieve long-term financial goals.
In addition, Kenan built the capacity of community group leaders and CODI staff on financial literacy, mentoring, and counselling skills so that they can provide continuous support to community members. During the third phase, the project will focus on creating a sustainable ecosystem for financial support in these disadvantaged communities by continuing to build the capacity of group leaders and providing them with sub-grants to implement their own community initiatives to develop the financial skills of their neighbors.
From 2019 – 2020, the project directly benefitted 1,502 community members and 149 community leaders from 40 communities in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, and Pathum Thani provinces. Participating community members increased their financial literacy knowledge by an average of 24% over the baseline and had adopted more disciplined financial habits.
For example, 90% of responding participants were saving and 55% were conducting household accounting for budgeting, marking substantial increases of 8% and 21%, respectively, over the baseline. In phase three, the project will train and mentor 100 community leaders who will then directly benefit an additional 625 community members
through 20 sub-grant projects.
