Kuwait City, May 22: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) held the closing ceremony of “Bankee” Program for School Year 2023/2024, to celebrate the achievements made during the first year of its official implementation in a number of public and private schools, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE), Kuwait Authority for Anti-Corruption (Nazaha), and Creative Confidence.

The ceremony, which was held at Arraya Ballroom, featured honoring 250 teachers who trained students on using the Bankee program in 30 public and private schools in addition to a special needs school for learning difficulties (Joan Al Kuwait Elementary School), during school year 2023/2024. The honorees also included the principals of participating schools, in recognition of their efforts and pivotal role in achieving the program’s goal to increase financial literacy among school students, by guiding, directing, and assisting them to set their financial goals, monitoring their progress and extending required support to ensure successful implementation of the classroom economy model.

Success stories

The ceremony included sharing many success stories achieved by the Bankee program in its first year.

Commenting on this, Manal Al-Mattar, Head of Group Corporate Communications at National Bank of Kuwait said, “Students showed remarkable engagement with the program’s attractive content, to the extent that it has become an integral part of their daily classroom activities. It also made a tangible difference in the lives of many of them by equipping them with the skills required to manage their finances and make decisions that support their financial future, in addition to the noticeable advancement in their financial culture and the positive changes in their behaviors after implementing the program in their schools.”

“Bankee” is Kuwait’s first hands-on school financial literacy program, which was launched by NBK with the aim of promoting financial inclusion, especially among school students, in an effort to set the younger generation in Kuwait on a path to a resilient financial future. The program aims to familiarize students with key financial concepts including earning, spending and saving, and financial responsibilities and instilling financial culture, which is done in an innovative and interactive way using classroom economy model,” she remarked.

“Moreover, Bankee aims to instill the main values including integrity and transparency, personal growth and development, accountability and responsibility, collaboration and teamwork. It also seeks to raise a generation of a young Kuwaiti generation who recognize the importance of financial welfare and independence, and have the required financial knowledge and skills to achieve sustainable development, economic welfare for individuals and the community at large,” she explained.

Digital bank

Bankee digital platform serves as a virtual bank, on which students receive their allowance, salaries, bonuses, and fines, and pay their expenses. Each student participating in the program has a virtual bank account, which simulates real-life financial transactions.

In Bankee, students are given the chance to apply for classroom-specific or school-wide jobs, which offer them an opportunity to earn additional income or salary. Classroom jobs are tailored to each classroom and encompass roles such as attendance monitor or teacher's assistant. On the other hand, school jobs involve participating in extracurricular activities at the school level, such as joining the student council and school radio team.

To instill core values and accountability, Bankee incorporates a system of bonuses and fines. Students can receive bonuses for exceptional performance or positive behaviors, while fines may be imposed for rule violations or inappropriate conduct.

15,000 Students

Having achieved a remarkable success in its pilot phase, Bankee encouraged more schools and students to join it when it was officially kicked off at the beginning of school year 2023/2024.  Out of 150 applicants, 30 schools have been enrolled in the program so far, in addition to a special needs school for learning difficulties (Joan Al Kuwait Elementary School), with a total of 15,000 students and 3,000 teachers.

Bankee also launched its website in Arabic and English, as well as social media pages on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, to enable all participants to benefit from the provided content, activities and events held at different schools all year round.

It is worth mentioning that NBK has recently been honored with the Bronze Award from Qorus in the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) category for Bankee Program. This recognition underscores the bank’s commitment to incorporating innovations that integrate sustainability and ESG standards into its activities.