FINANCIAL LITERACY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

 Equity Bank started as a small building society in Kenya and today it is one of the biggest financial conglomerates in Africa. When one follows the story of Equity Bank and its impact on the socioeconomic prosperity of over 15 million Africans he or she is inspired to take action on their dreams.  Every African has dreams but many of our dreams not not realize their potential due fear. The founders of Equity Bank had a clear vision and they took small steps to make it a reality. Today we see a gigantic financial conglomerate that is giving dignity to countless Africans. As a practitioner who speaks to various youths including university graduates I am concerned that a number of them do not believe in their dreams. They speak about them in a "small way" or without conviction. The world has changed. There was a time when Uganda had one university and a university student was guaranteed of a job even before graduation. Today the narrative is different. With over 40 universities

 As we come to the end of the year someone may ask,  what have you achieved ? Ask yourself in relation to who and what? As one asserts that they have not achieved their goals, have they made an initiative to visit Mulago hospital to see patients who are in a critical situation? People who make plans to leave home to achieve their goals only to perish in car accidents. What about people who are dying in war torn countries. Our  current challenges may seem small if we are to compare them with a person who is on death row in Luzira Prisons.  As a generation we tend to be discouraged when we do not achieve the material things. But then in the grand scheme of life everything matters. The gift of life matters. The fact that yo have a job matters a great deal. The fact that you have a family is important. The fact that you can read and write matters. As we grow we realize that the things we had taken for granted matter in adult life. We need to have a grateful heart and discover that we alrea

 Just last year a senior six student failed to sit his final exams . The reason was because the parents failed to raise fees. That is how many dreams are shattered. Life is full of uncertainties and risks. Just this year we witnessed a fuel tanker burst into flames and killing over 20 people. What about the Kiteezi land fill  tragedy? What about the  accidents that happen on  a daily basis? The worst thing that  is a tragedy happening when we are not prepared for it. Lives have been lost in hospitals simply because the patient did not have an adequate insurance cover. Lack of insurance also directly impacts our saving culture .This is because the little we earn is likely to be diverted to emergencies. Who remembers the torrid time we went through as a nation and the world during Covid 19 and lock down? As developing countries we are so vulnerable to a number of shocks compared to the developed world. According to John Ssebaana Kizito in his book, Insurance Basics , he noted that insura

 While training members of a certain Savings Credit and Cooperative Society a certain youth asked me how a budget could  assist in financial advancement. A personal budget is a plan for the coordination of income and expenses. Take an example of a building if it is built on a weak foundation it will collapse. In the same way if our financial lives are built on weak foundations they will not stand the test of time. In a recent article in the media it was shown that some youths had diverted Parish Development Model Funds from the intended use to unplanned expenditures. This was an indicator of lack of adequate planning on the part of the borrowers. A number of young people say that they only plan for funds when they have enough but my assertion is that it is too late.  A budget enables a person to forecast their income and expenses . A budget can be for a day, week, month or year depending on the circumstances. A budget can be for a person, family or business. A budget should be written

 Iam privileged to be in a space where I give hope to the youths who are the majority in this country. Recently I saw a youth who noted he could not get a loan. So chances are that this youth had given up on his dream. Hope is one of the greatest currencies in life . A person that is devoid of hope has almost lost the battle. Even with the best medicine if a patient does not have hope he or she might not get healed. Patients have been given medical reports about cancer and have refused to accept the reports and used their faith to get healed. There is power in human potential. What we are currently manifesting is not even half of our potential. This is a mystery that most people do not understand. We can become more than what we think. This is "beyond motivational speaking". We can become more than we currently manifest. Who knew that Dr. Ben Carson who was always the last in class could become a neurosurgeon? Who knew that the late Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned for 27

 The most successful people are daring. From the late Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft they all listened to their guts. I recently visited the university students who were showcasing different products at Makerere University Entrepreneurship Expo at Freedom Store. I was impressed with their level of innovation and creativity. Some of the questions that I asked some of the students was whether their businesses were registered. The answers were not very convincing because it seemed most of them were still in mentorship stage and I do not blame them because they are still students.  My major point is that we need to reach a point where students jealously protect and test their ideas in the real market. I have often told Business Administration students that they should be the leaders of Uganda's economy since they study business courses but I have been surprised for a business student says he or she lacks a job. If they lack jobs then it is an opportunity for them to cr