- National Bonds and Knowledge Fund launch ‘Young Investor Programme’ to teach financial literacy to 75,000 students across 50 UAE schools, following a successful pilot in 11 Dubai schools.
- The programme blends classroom learning with real-world financial experiences covering savings, investments, insurance, AI-driven tools, and long-term planning with hands-on business projects and workshops.
- Now expanding to Sharjah via the Masar initiative, the programme targets university students and graduates as well, supporting the UAE’s knowledge-based economy by fostering money-smart, workforce-ready youth.
In a major initiative aimed at nurturing financial literacy from an early age, National Bonds, the UAE’s leading Shari’a-compliant savings and investment institution, has partnered with the Knowledge Fund Establishment to launch the ‘Young Investor Programme’. This pioneering programme is crafted to equip students with essential financial knowledge through a blend of classroom learning and practical, real-world experiences. With a vision, the programme targets 75,000 students in 50 schools in the UAE. Following a pilot, which was successfully tested in 11 private schools in Dubai and included 3,500 students, the programme will scale up across the country over the next three years through a regionally responsive, flexible delivery model.
The pilot phase had the involvement of some of the major schools, such as Dubai Schools in Al Barsha, Al Khawaneej, and Nad Al Sheba, as well as International and American Schools of Creative Science institutions. Having made an early success in Dubai, the programme is now extending to Sharjah through a collaboration with the Masar initiative by the Sharjah Capability Development Authority. Masar widens the reach of the programme to Emirati university students and graduates, providing continuity in financial literacy and equipping youth with readiness for integration into the workforce on a foundation of applied money management.
The Young Investor Programme exposes students in Grades 5 and 6 to fundamental financial principles, while senior students in Grades 11 and 12 participate in high-level workshops at National Bonds' headquarters. The course is organized around six core modules, namely money management, savings, investments, loans, insurance, and long-term planning, with support from role-playing activities and practical exercises. For topicality in an increasingly changing economy, artificial intelligence, digital money, and contemporary financial instruments are included. Older students also study financial planning, investment planning, market research, and communications preparing for careers in finance.
Aside from classroom participation, students are also motivated to create and present actual business or investment plans, some of which will be subjected to a feasibility study and mentoring. Sharjah has specialised workshops under Masar targeting financial planning, investment literacy, and risk management. The programme is substantially aligned with the UAE's national objectives in its knowledge-based economy, building a generation of students who have the confidence and competence to make sound financial choices.
