30 January 2023

Over 300,000 students in ASEAN benefit from Maybank’s Cashville Kidz financial literacy programme

Group furthers its commitment to drive financial inclusion in Southeast Asia by raising the levels of financial literacy and honouring communities in its inaugural Regional Financial Education Excellence Awards

As part of its continuous efforts to enhance financial literacy among the younger generation in ASEAN, Maybank’s Cashville Kidz financial literacy programme has successfully reached out to 37,020 students and some 945 educators in over 113 schools in 2022. In a year that was recovering from the pandemic, the programme doubled its efforts on increasing the level of financial literacy to 56.3%, and surpassing its initial target of engaging just over 28,000 students.

To reinforce the importance of financial literacy among students, Maybank held its inaugural Regional Financial Education Excellence Awards this year to honour educators and students who have displayed dedication and extraordinary efforts in promoting and championing it in Southeast Asia. In its fifth edition, the awards programme which was hosted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia also aims to further create awareness about the importance of financial literacy region-wide.

In his opening remarks at the awards ceremony, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, Chairman of Maybank and Maybank Foundation said that, every child in this world should be given equal opportunities to quality financial education and underlined the importance of key stakeholders including governments, corporates, schools and family units collaborating to champion this cause in a sustainable manner.

He added, “As a leading financial institution and to deliver on its aspiration to become a regional ESG leader, Maybank is committed to serve the communities by providing them with the right knowledge of money management, to ensure that no one is left behind in this rapidly changing environment. The programme has supported the underbanked segment and communities across urban and rural geographies in ASEAN and will continue to drive financial inclusivity in line with our deeper purpose of Humanising Financial Services.

The Maybank Cashville Kidz programme is accorded co-curriculum status by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia and is endorsed through its strategic partnership and collaboration with the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Cambodia (MOEYS), Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), the Department of Education Philippines (DepEd), the Ministry of Education and Culture, Indonesia, and the Monetary Authority of Indonesia (OJK).

Mr Shahril Azuar Jimin, Chief Sustainability Officer of Maybank said, “The Cashville Kidz programme continues to evolve in line with futuristic learning requirements. With refreshed learning modules for students and latest teaching tools provided to educators and parents, we are very encouraged with the results of the programme and look forward to further strengthening it to benefit more communities in in the future.”

“The effectiveness of the programme has been endorsed by key government stakeholders and regulators in numerous countries in this region and we are pleased to see the programme touching the lives of 37,020 students in 112 schools and trained 945 teachers last year. Additionally, since its introduction, the programme has positively impacted over 300,000 students in 1,150 schools with 4,438 teachers trained in ASEAN.”

Other guests present at the awards ceremony were Dato’ Zanariah Zainal Abidin, Director General, ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia; Mr Hendra Purnama Iskandar, Minister-Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia; Mr Kien Gia Le, Political Counsellor, Embassy of Vietnam; Mr Heng Bomakara, Deputy Director General, Banking Supervision, National Bank of Cambodia; Mr Men Pheakdey, Director of Data Management and Macro-Surveillance Department, National Bank of Cambodia; Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, Vietnam Expert, Ministry of Education and Training Vietnam; Dr Hamim Syahrum Ahmad Mokhtar, Deputy Director of Financial Inclusion, Bank Negara Malaysia; En Abdul Hadi Abdul Rahman, Principal Assistant Director, Curriculum, Sports & Arts Division, Ministry of Education Malaysia; and Pn Nor Fazleen Zakaria, General Manager, Education and Outreach Division, AKPK.

Also present at the event were Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, Group President & CEO, Maybank; Mr Anthony Brent Elam, Director, Maybank Board; Datuk Nora Manaf, Group Chief Human Capital Officer, Maybank; Ms Izlyn Ramli, Head, Group Corporate Affairs, Maybank & CEO, Maybank Foundation; and Mr Michael Reyes CEO, MoneyTree Asia Pacific.

The winners of four categories of awards presented at the Maybank Regional Financial Education Excellence Awards 2022 were:

  1. Best Student Award

    1. Iffah Qistina binti Mohammad, SK Bukit Baru, Malaysia;
    2. Nguyen Mai Khanh, Hoang Hoa Tham School, Vietnam;
    3. Zoe Mikel B. Teves, Escuela de Sophia of Caloocan Inc, Philippines;
    4. Ream Vireak, Milkyway School, Cambodia.
    This award is given out to the Student who achieved the highest post assessment score and has put in extraordinary effort in transforming himself or herself into a financial literacy role model for his or her peers.
  2. Best Family Award

    1. Mr Muhammad Amin Nasib’s family, Malaysia;
    2. Nguyen Xuan Hoang’s family, Vietnam;
    3. Mrs Roselinda R. Nuza’s family, Philippines;
    4. Mrs Anheng Leakhena’s family, Cambodia.
    This award is given out to the Family that has displayed a strong willingness, deep commitment and firm resolve to improve the family’s financial standing and resilience through the Cashville Kidz Family Budgeting programme.
  3. Best Educator Award

    1. Mr Kamal Sufiyan Mustafa Kamal, SK Lavender Heights, Malaysia;
    2. Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong, Ngoi Sao School, Vietnam;
    3. Ms Neslac A. Tagle, Amang Rodriguez Elementary School, Philippines;
    4. Mr Norng Chanthan, Reaksmey Kuma Soung School, Cambodia.
    This award is given out to the Educator who has displayed extraordinary dedication and commitment during the Cashville Kidz programme to ensure his or her students achieve marked improvement in their pre and post assessment scores.
  4. Best School Award

    1. SK Saujana Utama, Malaysia;
    2. Ngoi Sao School, Vietnam;
    3. Rizal Elementary School, Philippines;
    4. Reaksmey Kuma Soung School, Cambodia.
    This award is given out to the School that has displayed exemplary leadership, vision and willingness in driving the Financial Literacy agenda in their school.

Originally piloted in Malaysia in 2013, the Cashville Kidz programme together with programme partner MoneyTree Asia Pacific Ltd has now been expanded to six other countries namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. The programme has been successful with approximately 300,000 school students in more than 1,150 schools across ASEAN benefiting to date.

Maybank Foundation which is an accredited ASEAN entity, is the corporate responsibility arm of the Maybank Group, which seeks to positively impact communities in markets that Maybank operates. The Foundation’s programmes are focused on six key pillars which are Education, Community Empowerment, Healthy Living, Arts & Culture, Environmental Diversity & Disaster Relief.