USAID Project Named Finalist for Global Financial Inclusion Award

June 11, 2018

Child & Youth Finance International and Argentina’s G20 Presidency have named USAID/Ukraine and the Ukraine Financial Sector Transformation (FST) project a finalist for an Economic Citizenship Award in the G-20 Global Inclusion Awards 2018.

Winners will be announced in July at the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“FST has elevated financial awareness and inclusion to a new level in Ukraine,” said Chief of Party Robert Bond. “Our work on consumer lending rights, consumer protection, and personal finance with committed partners such as the National Bank of Ukraine is making a practical difference in the financial culture of Ukraine. It is great to have this recognition of our joint efforts to broaden participation in Ukraine’s financial system.”

The Global Inclusion Awards honor initiatives that further the economic citizenship of children and youth. There are five other categories of awards besides Economic Citizenship: Outstanding Youth Economic Citizenship Award, Global Youth Entrepreneur Award, CYFI Country Award, Global Money Week Award, and Youth Entrepreneurship Country Pioneer Award.

FST and its partners—the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education, Banking University, and the Deposit Guarantee Fund—were recognized among candidates from 150 other countries for demonstrating innovation in financial, social, and livelihoods education, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurial support for children and youth.

Last year, Ukraine was shortlisted as a finalist for the Global Money Week Award, acknowledging the accomplishments of the National Bank of Ukraine/FST project team in implementing Global Money Week 2017 educational activities.

FST is a U.S. Agency for International Development program designed to reform the financial sector and increase access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. One dimension of this process is transforming the financial ecosystem through financial literacy and education programs targeted at youth and vulnerable groups such as pensioners, displaced people, and women. The FST project supported and expanded the financial literacy course that is now currently taught in more than 1,000 schools nationwide to 41,000 students and conducted a Financial Awareness Days event for 10,000 people, among other activities.