The first time Brandon Kahuho heard about investing was about five years after he finished his university education.

For him, that was a bit late in life because had he been informed while still in school, it would have allowed him to plan his finances, make smarter financial decisions, and invest earlier at a time when there would have been a lower risk.

“Financial education is important, especially for children, but a lot of us weren’t taught those skills when we were younger,” says Brandon.

The concept of financial literacy that will empower children with wisdom to manage their finances responsibly is not something that is widely taught early in Kenyan schools.

Financial education is one crucial area of education that is often overlooked. As a result, children have an alarming lack of understanding of finances.

According to a Global Financial Literacy Survey, only 38 percent of Kenyans are financially literate. This underscores the urgent need for financial education and the importance of teaching children the essential life skills related to money, like budgeting, saving, and making informed decisions about money.

This is the mission that Brandon, a UI/UX Designer at Safaricom, and his colleagues are passionately pursuing with M-PESA GO, an application launched in 2022 to help children between 10 and 18 use M-PESA services independently.

The team behind M-PESA GO aims to empower children with financial tools early on, fostering a generation of financially savvy individuals who can make sound financial decisions.

“We want to ensure that children are financially literate and ready for the world. You can see what’s going on in the economy here and everywhere else, so we have to make sure that everyone is educated in terms of building wealth,” he says.

From the data that Brandon and his team gathered, more than a million customers transacting on M-PESA were under 18 years old, and they needed to cater to this young segment, too. The impact of early financial education is significant, as it can shape their financial habits and decisions for the rest of their lives. So, what better way to transition these future customers than by educating them about money, which will impact their future in various ways?

“You’ll find that people, especially salaried ones, start their month with money. The first week of getting paid they’re doing a lot, same to the second week. In the third week, they’re barely living on scraps, and by the fourth week, they’re borrowing.

“So how can we make well-rounded individuals who know that by the time I get my salary, maybe I can put this amount in a money market fund, I can invest in a bond, I can save for an emergency, and this is what I can spend. How do we create financially disciplined people? It’s through education,” Brandon says.

Safaricom is working towards becoming a purpose-led technology company by 2025. One way it is doing this is by providing digital solutions like M-PESA GO for its customers. The M-PESA GO team is leveraging technology and partnerships to design a fun and exciting experience for kids that will bridge the gap in financial literacy.

As such, M-PESA GO has partnered with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to develop curriculums that will sit on the app that focuses on key financial aspects, namely budgeting, saving and entrepreneurship. And since we live in a tech-driven world, they’ll also come up with a programme to help children learn computer skills.

On the application, children will also learn how to code with the help of Kodris Africa, another partner. Kodris Africa offers a coding curriculum for children between the ages of 7 and 16.

“One of the major skills that are lacking in the market is coding, engineering and computer science. We do this so that we can empower the kids to create solutions for themselves. It’s not just about being employed anymore, but can you employ yourself with the skills that you have?” Brandon says, adding that these skills will give teens an idea of who they want to become.

Brandon and the team are also working on a pocket money solution for the kids. With this, they’ll be able to withdraw money at school without having to queue at the bursar’s office. To enable this, they are working on a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled device, which, with just a tap, children can use to pay for stuff at the school kiosk.

Away from the short curriculums and in the quest to make well-rounded individuals, there’ll also be video content that children can interact with financial education content creators.

“We may focus on educational aspects like coding, but not everyone wants to do that. Some people are sports-oriented. So, we want to partner with some training camps that will teach these kids football, basketball, and rugby. How do we give them mentors and guidance to teach them about life skills? Also, before they finish exams, how can we give them past papers to revise? Remember, we may talk about this financial aspect all the time, but we also want them to succeed in their school life,” he says.

Because children also need to learn how to earn money, mini apps will be created on M-PESA GO to enable parents to set tasks for their kids. Once they are completed, they can pay their kids by sending them money.

The M-PESA GO application can be accessed via the M-PESA APP or the Sim Tool Kit (STK).

Children can only access Send Money services, Lipa na M-PESA, Buy Airtime, Buy bundles, and My Account Services, but parents can enable or disable these services.

The services they cannot access are Withdraw Cash, All loans and savings products like Mshwari, KCB M-PESA and Fuliza, and payments to betting companies and political parties.

After a parent registers their child on the application, they can keep track of their activities by dialling *334#, view their M-PESA GO account balances or mini statement, view the accounts of all the children under their profile, and more.

Every year, the world celebrates the Day of the African Child, where the focus is on raising awareness of improving education for children across the continent. Financial literacy should form part of the core curriculum in schools. It is an essential tool in creating a strong economy, and learning about it early on will positively affect their future. It not only teaches them the importance of money management, but it also instils financial responsibility and the value of money in different aspects of saving, borrowing and spending.