Building Financial Futures: JA’s Financial Health Learning Experiences Around the World
This is the second in a three-part series about JA’s three pillars: work readiness, financial health, and entrepreneurship.
August 12, 2024
When Edward Lee joined JA in 1972 as an after-school activity, he immediately found it more captivating than his regular schoolwork. On day one, he and his friends organized a JA student company, and they elected him president. Their product? Groovy 1970’s lava lamps. “I was just 17 years old,” Edward reflected. “I have to thank JA for actually getting me interested in the business I’m in today.”
In 1999, Edward and his JA Company Program teammates, who became lifelong friends and business partners, founded COL Financial. Like his entrepreneurial spark, Edward’s interest in the stock market started with JA: “One of our mentors invited us to visit his office, and there were a lot of stock charts on the walls.” Curious, Edward asked about the charts. From then on, he dedicated his free time to learning and understanding stock markets.
COL Financial’s mission is to democratize wealth in the Philippines and make stock market investing accessible to all Filipinos. “Financial stability impacts every aspect of a person’s life,” Edward has said. “Being in control of finances offers the freedom to focus on other matters.” The company quickly became a pioneering force in online stock trading, especially at a time when the practice was still new. Edward’s commitment to enhancing financial literacy among Filipinos endures, and he continues to support JA by serving on boards and mentoring young people through JA Philippines and JA Asia Pacific.
JA’s financial health learning experiences across all six JA regions equip young people with essential skills and knowledge to navigate their financial futures with confidence. Through JA’s financial education, students learn to budget, save, invest, and spend responsibly, skills that help them understand the value of money, the importance of financial planning, and the impact of their financial decisions. As a result, JA alumni are better prepared to manage their personal finances, make informed choices, and achieve their long-term financial goals. This foundation not only fosters financial independence but also empowers young people to contribute to and make positive impacts on their communities.
Like all JA learning experiences, JA regions and member locations tailor financial literacy curricula to meet the needs of their students and communities. The following is just a sample of each region’s offerings:
JA Africa
JA Africa and Prudence Foundation have partnered to bring the Cha-Ching program from the classroom to TV through the Cha-Ching Money Show with Adanna and Emeka. Each episode supplements the original Cha-Ching videos with wraparound content that reinforces the financial literacy concepts. Teenage African hosts Adanna and Emeka present games, activities, and interviews with special guests in each episode, helping to enhance literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, and financial skills while inspiring young African children, who see themselves reflected in the hosts and the Cha-Ching Clubhouse Kids. Watch the show.
JA More Than Money teaches students about earning, spending, sharing, and saving money, as well as businesses they can start or jobs they can perform to earn money. JA More Than Money encompasses economics and business curriculum for learners in grades three through five. The program emphasizes social studies content while providing a strong focus on mathematics, reading, and writing skills. The JA More Than Money experience enhances learners’ classroom curriculum, challenging them to use innovative thinking to learn money-management skills that support positive attitudes as they explore and enhance their career aspirations. (Also offered in MENA and the US.) Learn more.
JA Americas
Financial education series 1, 2, 3 Finanzas! teaches day-to-day financial and economic concepts for the whole family. Delivered through DNews, Directv's regional news channel, and YouTube, the series covers concepts such as expenses, means of payment, purchase decision, savings, and investments; so that young people and their families can better manage money and make informed decisions. Watch now.
Volvo Financial Services expands economic empowerment through financial literacy education to more than 14,000 JA youth in Brazil, France, India, Italy, Peru, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More than 140 Volvo Financial Services employees volunteer across nine countries, partnering with JA educators to instill the importance of learning financial skills, entrepreneurship, setting financial goals, budgeting, and more. Learn more.
In partnership with Deloitte, JA Americas offers Cuentas Contigo throughout the region. The initiative has trained over 400,000 young people in basic financial literacy concepts, including how to manage a daily budget, spend wisely, and multiply savings. Cuentas Contigo is open, free, and self-managed for young people between ages 11 and 30. Learn more.
JA Asia Pacific
The Cha-Ching Curriculum, co-developed by the Prudence Foundation and JA Asia Pacific, introduces economic concepts for students ages 7–12. The program emphasizes economic and social studies content while providing a strong focus on finance, mathematics, planning, and analytical skills. Students use critical thinking skills to make money management decisions by applying four key concepts to their daily lives: earn, save, spend, and donate. JA Asia Pacific offers Cha-Ching in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, making it available in nine languages. Learn more.
In partnership with FWD, JA Asia Pacific offers JA SparkTheDream in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. JA SparktheDream supports primary school students to develop essential financial literacy skills, giving students access to volunteer-led financial management lessons, an interactive online learning platform, as well as family activities, community events and an annual regional student exchange. Learn more.
JA Japan offers JA Finance Park in four cities. As part of the official curriculum, all public middle school students in these cities experience the JA Finance Park with support from the school board. JA Japan has also developed an online version, expanding availability to classrooms around the country. Learn more about JA Finance Park in the US segment (below).
JA Europe
Both JA Europe and JA Americas count JA Economics for Success as their top regional financial health learning experience. Through a series of six interactive lessons, presented by a business volunteer, students ages 13–15 gain an understanding of their role in society and the economy as consumers, employees, taxpayers, investors, and borrowers. JA Economics for Success explores personal finance and students’ education and career options based on their skills, interests, and values, and they explore career options based on their skills, interests, and values. Using this knowledge, the students apply their knowledge of personal finance to understand their own needs and wants and make strong financial management decisions.
Young Enterprise UK offers a variety of financial health learning experiences, including Money Heroes, supported by HSBC UK. Through Money Heroes, students learn healthy money habits and attitudes through a wide range of fun, engaging, and high-quality resources, guidance, and tools. Young Enterprise also offers the Fiver Challenge for children ages 5–11, introducing financial education and enhancing key skills, including creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, and confidence. Learn more about Money Heroes and the Fiver Challenge.
Government partnerships play a vital role in delivering financial health education to European youth. Last year, the Albanian Ministry of Finance and Economy signed an agreement with JA Albania to implement JA's financial education and entrepreneurship modules in all Albania vocational education schools. More recently, Moldova’s Ministry of Finance and JA Moldova signed a collaboration agreement to bring financial education to the nation’s youth. The sustainable partnership will promote responsible financial behavior and popularize public finance. Learn more.
INJAZ Al-Arab/JA MENA
JA Personal Finance introduces teens and young adults to the interrelationship between today’s financial decisions and future financial freedom. To achieve financial wellness, participants learn about money-management strategies, including earning, employment and income, budgeting, savings, credit and debt, consumer protection, smart shopping, risk management, and investing. (Also offered in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the US.) Learn more.
INJAZ Egypt's Saving for Good addresses the financial health gap by equipping individuals with practical knowledge and fostering a culture of savings and financial responsibility. By offering financial education for low-income workers and underprivileged minorities across Egypt, Saving for Good empowers participants with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed financial decisions.
As in Europe, INJAZ members work regularly with national and local governments to implement learning experiences in public education. Most recently, INJAZ Qatar signed a cooperation agreement with Qatar’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education to integrate life and professional skills programs into primary and early education curricula in state schools, including JA My Money, My Future. INJAZ UAE, INJAZ Bahrain, and others in the region work with ministries of education to deliver JA/INJAZ learning experiences across all grade levels and at universities and vocational schools.
Junior Achievement USA
The JA Stock Market Challenge simulates the New York Stock Exchange, with student teams investing in and trading stocks as if they were managing real accounts. Classroom sessions before the big day introduce students to stocks, how stock trading works, and what impact current events have on stock market. On the day of the challenge, each team begins with a play-money account balance, which they invest over a 60-day cycle, buying and selling a portfolio of stocks and watching values rise and fall. However, a “day” lasts only 60 seconds, which makes the challenge both frenetic and fun! The team with the highest rate of return wins the challenge, and each participant usually receives a cash prize. Some JA locations have even included virtual participants. Learn more.
The JA Titan simulation turns high school students into business CEOs in the phone industry. Students experience firsthand how an organization evaluates alternatives, makes decisions, analyzes the outcomes of those decisions, and then strategizes what to do next. With a focus on financial literacy and insights into the workforce, JA Titan brings business economics to life. As students work in teams, or on their own, to make financial decisions about production, marketing, research, and development (R&D), and corporate social responsibility (CSR), they begin to see how every choice made in an organization relates to its future success. Learn more.
JA Finance Park, Junior Achievement USA's capstone program for personal financial planning and career exploration, comprises a curriculum and a simulation. JA locations in the US deliver JA Finance Park for entry and advanced level students, with both including in-class curriculum and an onsite simulation. Students build a foundation upon which they can make intelligent financial decisions that last a lifetime, including decisions related to income, expenses, savings, and credit. The learning experience culminates in a hands-on budgeting simulation that is implemented either at a JA Finance Park facility, mobile unit, or virtual site. Learn more about the entry and advanced levels.