By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco / Correspondent
THE Department of Education (DepEd), National Youth Commission (NYC), BPI-Globe BanKO and Youth at Venture are helping increase the financial literacy of out-of-school youth enrolled under the Abot-Alam Program, which aims to provide registered out-of-school youth with opportunities in education, employment and entrepreneurship.
The partnership aims to mainstream financial inclusion in the Abot-Alam Program by providing financial-literacy sessions and seminars to groups of Abot-Alam beneficiaries organized by the DepEd’s local Abot-Alam coordinators.
Abot-Alam beneficiaries enrolled under the entrepreneurship track are also given the opportunity to undergo a six-day entrepreneurship training workshop being offered by Youth at Venture.
Abot-Alam beneficiaries who undergo the financial-literacy sessions will be able to open mobile-based savings accounts, while those under the entrepreneurship track who have undergone both financial literacy and entrepreneurship sessions will eventually have access to other financial products, such as micro-loans and micro-insurance.
“As we work toward transforming our out-of-school youth to becoming productive citizens in our communities, we need to equally empower them with the knowledge on handling their finances and providing them with access to financial tools and services to achieve their goals,” Education Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages Mario A. Deriquito said.
“In keeping with BanKO’s mission to provide a savings account for every Filipino, Abot-Alam serves as an excellent channel to expand financial- literacy services to the unbanked. By directly offering out-of-school youth affordable micro-savings product through their mobile phones and future access to micro-credit to kickstart small businesses, we help fulfill the country’s financial-inclusion goal,” said Roberto Nazal, chief development officer of BPI-Globe BanKO.
The financial-literacy program has already been piloted by BPI-Globe BanKO in several communities, including a community in Camarines Sur.
Rose Olitoquit, Abot-Alam coordinator in Camarines Sur, said, “I requested BPI-Globe BanKO to provide financial-literacy training to my out-of-school learners in the mountain villages of San Fernando. Most of my learners aged 15 to 35 became depositors because the barriers to access in formal financial services were removed. The new depositors got a chance to open a savings account with an initial deposit of only P100. The program that was started didn’t just end with the financial-literacy training. Out-of-school youth who had regular jobs and other sources of income became regular savers.”
Olitoquit further addded that many of her learners who had undergone entrepreneurship training put up their own small business, trading in rice, agriculture supplies, peanut butter and bukayo. Many opened their own bakeries.
Meanwhile, Dranred Labaco, an out-of-school youth who underwent entrepreneurship training with Youth at Venture, illustrated the benefits of being financially aware and having the right entrepreneurial mind-set.
“I took entrepreneurship training in November 2014 and now have my own business for the last six months,” Labaco said in the vernacular. “The training starts with getting to know yourself, before you learn the basics of running a business and managing your finances.”
“When I had a small amount of capital, I got a cart to sell Bicolano food such as laing, pinangat,igado,” he continued, before sharing that the first venture eventually folded. “I was able to save P5,000, and now I sell peanut butter and atchara, which are made in Camarines Sur. I sell them at Divisoria [Manila]. I learned that businesses can fail, but you can find other opportunities to continue what you started.”
The DepEd and its partners are also looking at other potential partners to the program, including local governments and companies with corporate social responsibility programs focusing on livelihood, to assist in extending financial access to out-of-school youth.
“From an out-of-school youth to an Abot-Alam learner, our investment in the youth is yielding concrete results with around 2 million out-of-school youth registered with Abot-Alam,” NYC Chairman Gregorio Ramon Tingson said.
“Only two out of 10 Filipinos have bank accounts and more than 60 percent of those have only less P5,000. Financial literacy is one of the key components to equip young people with the right attitude toward finances. A financially literate learner is a financially empowered Filipino.”
“The financial-literacy program being implemented with our Abot-Alam learners is intended to inculcate in them the right attitudes and habits about money,” Deriquito stressed. “When we combine our opportunities in education, employment and entrepreneurship with financial literacy, we’re equipping our learners with better chances to improve their futures.”