MetLife and Junior Achievement Worldwide Partner to Tackle Global Financial Literacy

MetLife Foundation and JA Worldwide are making waves in the global financial literacy community with the announcement of their joint financial capability initiative, the Older Youth Development Project.  The venture is targeting economically disadvantaged young people in five countries, where the program will seek to empower them to have more involvement and control of their money management and financial affairs.

Developed as part of MetLife Foundation's five-year, $200 million investment in financial literacy and inclusion, the Older Youth Development Project will be rolled out in Mexico, South Korea, Egypt, Russia and Poland.  The project is aimed primarily at young people ranging in age from 14 to 23 years old and focuses on arming these individuals with skills and resources to enhance their financial literacy and their ability to secure and maintain gainful employment.

One of the particularly unique elements of this program is the creation of a digital learning platform that will enable students worldwide to engage on financial and economic topics, while also serving as a hub for educational materials and tools designed to boost the understanding of financial and money management topics.  Recognizing that each country has its own strengths and weaknesses in the area of financial capability, the Older Youth Development Project also will tailor the implementation to each country’s unique circumstances.

This partnership represents one of many global alliances formed in recent months among NGOs, corporations, foundations and government agencies directed at solving the vast epidemic of financial illiteracy.  The continued growth of partnerships of this type bodes very well for greater support and investment in financial education initiatives that, in turn, should fuel more impactful financial literacy solutions in many regions throughout the world.