NCBA Investment Bank, The NSE and Abojani, hosted a Teen Financial Literacy and Early Investor Empowerment Workshop in Nairobi, engaging youths aged 12–17.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), in collaboration with Abojani Investment and NCBA Investment Bank, has convened a Teen Financial Literacy and Early Investor Empowerment Workshop with the objectives of developing a new generation of confident financial investors.
The event, organized at the NSE Headquarters, involved an interactive workshop that aimed to introduce investment concepts to teenagers aged 12 to 17. The event targeted the reduction of the wide age gap that currently characterizes active investors in Kenya’s capital markets. The average active investor in the markets is between the ages of 40 and 50 years.
The head of business development at NCBA Investment Bank, Samuel Gichohi, emphasized the need for young people to be included in capital markets. According to Gichohi, failure to bring on board the next generation of investors might threaten the sustainability of the entire investment environment.
“Most of these [young people] going into the market lack financial literacy skills,” said Abojani Investment’s Nancy Nasimiyu. “They lack the skills to make sound financial decisions.”
“This project helps these youths acquire skills in areas of financial planning, savings, value for money, and investments,” she said. “We teach them how to create financial security from a very young age.”
“The session emphasized hands-on knowledge about managing finances and how to transition from making money into growing investment portfolios.” Upon reflection, key takeaways from this session would be budgeting basics, learning how to create disposable income, and compound interest concepts.
The participants were taught the “50/30/20” rule of budgeting, designing an emergency fund, and fundamental investment principles, which include generating interest from government bonds and generating dividend income from shareholding. They are also exposed to risk management when investing and dealing with losses incurred in the stock market.
One of the biggest takeaways from the workshop had been the concept of custodial Junior Central Depository System accounts that enable minors to hold shares under the care of their guardians. These accounts had been touted as a means through which teenagers can begin investing early in life in order to take advantage of the working of compounding.
The programme also afforded a practical experience as participants took a trip to the NSE trading floor for a live experience as well as familiarity with how their consumption impacts stock value.
NCBA Investment Bank utilized the platform to emphasize its continuous support for youth financial empowerment through offering structured investment options and professional advice for youth investors. The organizers have described this initiative as an important milestone in their quest to establish a financially literate generation of Kenyans who can participate in the Kenyan capital markets.