Gujarat : Citi Centre of Financial Literacy housed in the Indian School of Microfinance for Women (ISMW), celebrated its 2nd ‘Financial Literacy Day’ . The day was celebrated to mark the success of spreading financial literacy to over 5 lakh women through the Centre’s specially designed curriculum. At the occasion, the inaugural volume of the newly designed three part Financial Literacy module titled, “Rural Financial Counselor Trainers Manual” was released by Mr. AK Bera, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, Gujarat, Ahmedabad.

This first part of the financial literacy module, authored by ISMW, has been developed to serve as the teaching manual for the Rural Financial Counselors. The book focuses on training the trainers on how to educate individuals and conduct household counseling. Further, it lists the basic information on financial products and services available to an individual and the importance of personal financial planning and management. The book is written in simple English and will shortly be translated into regional languages.

ISMW is one of the leading educational institutions focusing on microfinance education for Women and aims at capacity-building of financial institutions–NGOs, MFIs and banks. Based in Ahmedabad, ISMW is promoted by SEWA Bank, Friends of Women’s World Banking (FWWB), and Coady International Institute, Canada with core funding from Citi Foundation. The School, through the Citi Centre of Financial Literacy that was set up in 2005, has educated over 5 lakh poor women across India, positively impacting the financial behavior of poor communities. The Centre targets to reach another 5 lakh women by the year 2011.

“Citi has been a long standing partner to the microfinance industry in India and around the world. We strive to provide access to funding and other products to microfinance institutions, enabling them to achieve scale, bring down costs and increase efficiency. The Citi Centre of Financial Literacy is the result of our belief in the importance of financial education in achieving financial inclusion. We are pleased to associate with ISMW and note its strong contribution towards enhancing financial literacy in India. The growth trajectory has been impressive and we aim to educate another 5 lakh women by the end of 2011,” said Mr. N Rajashekaran, Country Business Manager, Global Consumer Group, Citi India.

Ms. Ela Bhatt, Founder of SEWA and Chairperson of the Indian School of Microfinance for Women said, “Economic empowerment and access to financial services are equally important for the health of communities and societies, as is the capacity to understand basic financial concepts and products. We aim to take further the financial literacy drive by establishing a cadre of 50,000 financial counselors by end of 2012, who will play a significant role in educating and securing the future for millions of people in India, specially women.”

To take Financial Literacy as a movement across the country, the Centre has also promoted a network named National Alliance for Financial Literacy (NAFiL). The Citi Centre of Financial Literacy provides training for both CEOs of grassroots microfinance institutions and industry practitioners in financial education, needs assessment, curriculum development, campaign execution and evaluation. The key components of the Center’s programs include financial planning, budgeting, savings, investments and borrowing, aimed at educating women to make informed money management decisions. Over the years, the Centre has trained 1655 Trainers, held 220 workshops at the national level – spreading awareness on the importance of financial education, organized over 2735 household meeting sessions educating families.

In the sphere of financial education, Citi India also works with Mumbai-based NGO, MelJol, supporting its program reaching children in rural areas across four states – Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan and Kerala – and in ten schools in the city of Mumbai.