Company targets 10,000 children to get ‘money smart’

Teaching children to earn, save and manage money is essential, according to Athalyah Yisreal, the co-founder of Outliers Zone Caribbean – a company dedicated to teaching money management skills.
Yisreal launched the ‘Teach a Child to Save’ (TACTS) 10k school tour on Friday at the Herdmanston Lodge in Georgetown.

It coincides with international Teach a Child to Save day which is observed on April 22; April is also observed as the month of Financial Literacy for Youth.

The initiative targets 10,000 nursery, primary and secondary children at 25 schools in Berbice, Linden and Essequibo and intends to help them get money smart.

Yisreal believes that when children develop these habits, it will set the foundation for them to become financially capable adults.

“We need to teach our children how to earn money, I know as children parents give you allowances but as adults who give you allowances?”

Nathan Joseph is a12-year-old student of Queen’s College and is already a business owner. The young man’s business is NJ Squares Collection. Joseph, who spoke at the launch on Friday, revealed that he has learned how to save and invest his money.

For him, it has been “fun and educational.”

“To children who are thinking to start a business, during the beginning you will learn by trial and error, you will have to learn to save your money to buy the materials; who you will need for your business and in the future, you will learn to invest your money in your business and in other companies,” Joseph revealed.

Eleven-year-old Lekaiyah Wills is a pupil at the North Georgetown Primary School who has been using her Outlier’s Zone piggy bank to save money she earns from doing chores for the past two years.

“During these two years, I have saved $110,000.

“When I save, I always have money, I don’t always have to go to my parents and ask them for money,” the young woman said.

Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer Dr. Marcel Hutson endorsed the initiative and commended the company for its efforts to teach children to save money.

“It is very important and I am very happy we are doing this at a tender age, some of us have not had that kind of experience,” Dr Hutson said.

Outliers Zone also assists companies to strengthen their employee’s money management skills and prepare for retirement.

Since launching in 2018, the company have successfully partnered with 26 companies and trained over 3,000 employees.