CHENNAI: Teenagers these days are exposed to a range of information across arts, science, tech and other areas, but there’s little when it comes to financial literacy. Taking it upon themsleves to address the issue, Arnav Bajaj and Aryan Chaudry have founded Finance4teens, an organisation dedicated to developing financial literacy. It all started during the COVID- 19 lockdown.
“We have a huge interest in finance and banking. While working for a school project, we came across a survey conducted by the Global Financial Literacy Centre that said only 24% of the Indian population is financially literate and only around 15% teenagers know the basics about finance like difference between credit cards, debit cards or about markets,”
Arnav said, lamenting that the subject is rarely taught in schools. Arnav interacted with students from various schools in Chennai to know how many are financially literate, and realised that the findings of the survey were true. Something had to be done about it, the duo felt. A short course on seed funding and implementation of entrepreneurial ideas at a business school in January 2022 gave them the idea to start Finance4teens.
The platform educates teenagers about the basics of banking and finance and offers them a personalised financial roadmap based on their needs and financial situation. The group meets online through webinars and provides resources such as blogs, video lessons, and investment competitions, apart from discussions. These webinars draw in an attendance of more than 500 students on average. The curriculum for teaching was prepared by teenage volunteers and then vetted by domain experts.
The group plans to translate the materials and reach out to rural and underprivileged children. Finance4Teens also maintains professional standards and is clear about sponsorship and advertisements. “We thought of teaming up with banks and financial organisations for funding, but there was a catch — we would have to advertise their products on our site.
Rather than education, it becomes more of an endorsement, so we dropped the idea,” Arnav affirmed. Finance4teen is a non-profit organization that receives donations but defers from teaming up with third parties. The dream of inculcating financial education is spreading wings. The team started by just two now has over 20 members and a presence in seven countries. The team looks forward to roping in experts in finance and further expanding its reach. Arnav said he would like to pursue higher studies abroad and a career in investment banking.