The Financial Literacy Initiative and the alliance Namibia Housing Action Group and Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia signs MoU

Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG) and the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) Alliance signed an MOU on the 11 February 2016 whereby they agree to partner with the Financial Literacy Initiative (FLI) in order to educate their members on financial literacy.

The alliance’s mandate is not only to improve living conditions by providing affordable land tenure and housing but also to empower and support low income communities to improve their financial situation. SDFN assist members with small business loans to start and develop businesses in order to increase their incomes. The SDFN saw a need to improve business skills of the members and subsequently their Patron Madame Monica Geingos, the First Lady of the Republic of Namibia introduced FLI to the SDFN.  Following the first training workshop they decided to become a platform supporter of the FLI. Through this cooperation, the SDFN aimed to bring financial literacy and businesss skills to more households in the community.   During the signing ceremony Edith Mbanga the National Facilitator of the SDFN emphasised on the importance of the financial literacy training:  “We want changes in the way we manage our finances” she said

The Memorandum identifies the criteria’s for cooperation between the partners and the key areas for providing support to each other. This includes representation to Annual General Meetings, strategic workshops and provision of Financial Literacy Training Programmes to the platform supporters.

SDFN is a network of housing saving schemes with a membership of more than 20,000 members country-wide, it aims to improve living conditions of low-income people living in shacks, rented rooms and those without any accommodation, while promoting women’s participation. FLI on the other hand is a national platform which is mandated to improve the financial skills of private individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises. The initiative currently consists of more than 25 official Platform Supporters from the private, public and civil sectors in Namibia who jointly strive to address the target groups’ needs with regard to financial competence and consumer protection

Commissioned by the government of Germany, the FLI was initiated in 2009 by the Ministry of Finance with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ, German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation).

FLI also employs interactive educational methods like street theatre, TV and Radio shows as well as courses on finance for private individuals as well as small and medium enterprises in Namibia.

Companies interested in the FLI Financial Wellness Workplace Program are welcome to contact the FLI secretariat.