The Financial Education for Girls program aims to reach approximately 100,000 girls and young women with interventions to prepare them for the challenges in life to increase their chances of avoiding debt and poverty. The program is being implemented by Plan International, Aflatoun International, and Room to Read who are working together in Brazil, China, India, Rwanda, Tanzania and Sri Lanka. The program builds on Room to Read and Plan International’s expertise in enabling girls to access quality education, combining this with the expertise of Aflatoun International, a not for profit which specialises in the development of social and financial skills curricula. The aim is to equip girls and young women with the knowledge, skills and attitudes so that they have increased self-confidence and agency over their future choices.

Working closely with Aflatoun International’s local partners, Plan International and Room to Read are delivering financial content in a contextualized and interactive way in schools and clubs. Aflatoun’s curricula provides easy to use lesson plans with a focus on understanding oneself, one’s rights and responsibilities, learning how to plan, save and budget as well as how to launch small enterprises. The curricula are a blend of learning in class and practical activities like savings and enterprise development. Girls and boys plan and run their own savings groups and start small businesses in self-managed clubs. These activities provide children and young people with experience and confidence which will underpin their future decisions and life choices.

The partnership is coordinated through Credit Suisse’s Global Education Initiative, Plan International’s UK office (Plan UK), and Aflatoun’s Headquarters in Amsterdam. The program is implemented by Room to Read and Plan International’s in-country offices and supported by Aflatoun – or their local partners – in certain countries. At the start of the partnership a baseline evaluation was carried out, followed by mid-term and final evaluations. Partnership RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) matrices for project activities are in place and formal status reports on programmatic progress are submitted biannually. Regular updates are also given on biweekly and monthly partnership coordination calls. Global and project-specific key performance indicators (KPIs) are in place and reported on alongside log frame status updates.

Credit Suisse AG, Plan International, Room to Read, Aflatoun International