HSBC and JA Worldwide expand global partnership to empower youth to manage their financial future.

March 1, 2022

Thousands of students in 17 countries will participate in the JA Building a Financially Capable Generation™️ learning experience and gain skillsets and mindsets for sustainable living.

HSBC and JA Worldwide are expanding a new financial education experience that teaches young people how to save, budget, and make smart decisions with their money.  

The JA Building a Financially Capable Generation initiative pairs educators from JA and volunteers from HSBC with groups of students in classrooms, community centers, and online. Educators and volunteers work together to teach, coach, and mentor young people to increase their knowledge, skills, and experience with money, promote their self-confidence, and build relationships that support financial health and resiliency.

Financial education experiences like this are rare for most young people. “This is such an important topic,” explains Liam, a student participating with the JAYE Foundation in Malta.  “It is not the typical subject you learn in school, or the typical thing you talk about with your friends.”

This year, a grant from HSBC will enable the JA network to engage more students in the learning experience and to launch the program in four more countries: Oman, Turkey, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“This partnership is about helping youth build the future skills they need to be resilient, live sustainably, and thrive in a global economy,” said William Chiu, Global Head of Future Skills Group Corporate Sustainability at HSBC. “As one of the world’s largest banks, we owe it to the next generation to understand how to manage their own finances and take ownership of their financial futures.”

The JA Building a Financially Capable Generation program is designed for youth ages 12–16 and includes three components:

  1. An educational foundational session, delivered by teachers and volunteers

  2. A mobile app, FinQuest, designed for youth

  3. A team-based project and innovation competition, the Global FinCap Challenge

An independent evaluation of the program pilot found evidence that the learning experience is working. Researchers found a key benefit of the program is introducing young people to financial capability content and concepts they don't get anywhere else. Data from pre- and post-program surveys, quizzes from the FinQuest app, and volunteer surveys and interviews showed that the program increased:

  • Knowledge scores related to financial capabilities

  • Attitude scores related to savings and insurance

  • Behavioral intent related to budgeting and accessing financial services

  • Self-efficacy scores related to setting financial goals and managing money

“As a parent, I want my children to have a better understanding of how to manage their money than I had when I was a teenager,” explained Asheesh Advani, CEO, JA Worldwide. “Young people are coming of age with digital banking, trading apps, micro-investing, and crypto. Let’s equip them with the skill sets and mindsets so they can navigate their financial environment, make smart decisions, and thrive in the global economy.”

Participating Independent JA Locations

JA of Central Ontario (Canada)

Junior Achievement China

INJAZ Egypt

Entreprendre Pour Apprendre (France)

IW JUNIOR (Germany)

JA Hong Kong SAR—China

Prestasi Junior Indonesia

Junior Achievement Malaysia

JA México

JAYE Malta Foundation

INJAZ Oman

Junior Achievement Singapore

JA Thailand

Genç Başarı Eğitim Vakfı (Turkey)

INJAZ UAE

JA of New York (USA)

Junior Achievement Vietnam

About HSBC Holdings plc

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in our geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,958 billion on December 31, 2021, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations.