The findings from the WageWise survey on ‘Financial Resilience in the time of COVID-19’ conducted in 2020 during the lockdown, with past participants on the programme, indicated that “financial education supports the financial resilience, i.e., the ability to ‘cope and adapt’ in the face of shocks and adversity”, of participants. These participants were prompted to make changes to their finances after participating in the programme which enabled them to better withstand the shocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They had started to budget, prioritised spending on essential items, and they had started saving. The results also indicated that by attending the programme they were more likely to track their income and expenses and feel calm about their debt. These findings support the need for a financial education programme such as WageWise, targeted to assist workers.
The programme seeks to achieve the following with its participants:
Click here to view an Infographic on the contribution of WageWise to the financial resilience of its participants.
Given the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the lockdown restrictions, two training approaches are available. The best approach to adopt for the workers from a worksite will be agreed with the employer. The approaches are:
Blended approach
This approach includes face-to-face workshops, which are supported by post workshop activities: WhatsApp messaging with the participants to interact with both workshop as well as additional content on the WageWise website, and a series of USSD journeys to promote engagement with and assess the understanding of the content.
Workshop format:
WhatsApp for Business approach
An alternative to the face-to-face workshops, is a self-directed learning solution that will help participants acquire key financial education content.
Content
A combination of the following core themes are included but adjusted to align to the training approaches: