FINANCIAL LITERACY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

I read a story of a student of Kabale university who committed suicide. Losing a young soul is such a tragic incident to the parents, family, community and nation. One of the saddest moments of life is the ignorance of our life purpose. There is a gross abuse of potential among Uganda's youths. I normally interact with so many youths during the financial literacy trainings that I provide but I have realized that very many youths have a lot of potential but because many are unaware they grossly abuse it. On 24th May2025 there was a news headline in the New Vision that showed that a number of Uganda's youths were involved in gambling to the extent that many dropped out of school. Another incident was reported in Tororo District where a group of youths wanted to beat up staff of a certain betting company for failing to pay their returns. There seems to be a dominant trait among the youths that they deserve instant riches. Due to this desire for instant riches a number of them seek...

 Over 70% of Ugandans are below the age of 70 years . The youths have a lot of potential and are the future of Uganda. For the last 5 years I have been involved in grassroot financial literacy training that targets equipping knowledge ,skills and attitudes among the youths in relation to managing their finances. Financial literacy starts with responsibly managing personal finances. One of the key lessons that I have picked up during the financial literacy training is that some youths lack the knowledge and skills of handling their money effectively. There is a particular youth who lost his laptop to a loan shark after failing to pay the loan. Had this youth belonged to a savings group he would have been cushioned . Many youths up to university level live hand to mouth. This means they are vulnerable to external shocks .Many have no bank accounts in formal financial institutions and the little they possess is normally spent without a budget. This exposes these youths to financial st...

 We live in a generation of instant results. Instant food, instant success and movies. Where as I advocate for instant wealth creation, the question is , are we deviating from the laws of nature? For the past 5 years I have been training youths in financial literacy training. The good trait that I have found out is that Uganda's youths are very enterprising and energetic. However I have noted that there is a general tendency to disregard humble beginnings. A certain youth recently noted that he does not mind where he gets money from but what matters is whether he has the money. It seems money which does not have eyes or brain is making some youths lose their authentic identity.  The purpose of the article is to make the youths who form the majority in the country that humble beginnings are very important in building a strong foundation when it comes to amassing wealth. Wealth should also no be limited to physical cash. The wealthiest people in the world spend a lot of time re...

 A certain gradate told me that he would start a big business after raising enough money. The key question to ask is what if the capital does not materialize. God has deposited in each one of us a lot of talents and gifts. Unfortunately we wait for the perfect time to implement them. A close look at some of the greatest companies shows that some started in garages. KFC was just an idea and Colonel Sanders faced over 80 rejections from potential investors. However he persisted and now KFC is a global brand. This is the case with Equity Bank which started as a small building society in Kenya and today it is a financial conglomerate serving over 15 million customers across Africa. This is the case with Grameen Bank which started as a project to serve the poor in Bangladesh and today it is a pace setter in the microfinance industry around the world. For the past 5 years I have been providing financial literacy training to grassroot youths including university students. One of the lesso...

 I have met university graduates who feel that they pursued "wrong" degrees. I believe that every degree is worthwhile. What is required is a change in perspective of the graduate. The danger is that a number of graduates simply see the degree as a mere piece of paper. I once met a mentor whose talk gave a paradigm shift. The degree that we earn is to prove that we have earned a lot of knowledge that can transform society. The question is how come some of the most successful businessmen are school dropouts and they are employing degree holders? It is because they don't fear to take risks. For most educated people they wait for the right moment to set up a business yet a dropout will simply take the risk. The question is does our education system simply make us fearful and what can be done about it? How comes unemployment is more pronounced among the graduates than the dropouts? Why is it that many gradates tend to fear to start small and prefer white collar jobs to starti...

 There is a group of 16 rural men and women in Uganda which teamed up and formed a savings group. Their reason for setting up the group was because they were tired of sleeping on mats. Today what started as a small savings group has expanded to other 8districts and is serving and impacting the community. When one reads about such humble beginnings he or she is encouraged to make a positive difference. When one reads about the story of Equity Bank , he or she is inspired to take action. Equity Bank started as a small building society in Kenya and today is one of the largest financial conglomerates in Africa serving over15 million customers.  The educated class has a lot to offer to the world. The degrees that we amassed are not meant to only get us formal jobs but there is a lot of knowledge that we acquired that can help transform the communities. I have spent 5 years providing grassroot financial literacy training and I should say that it is both an exciting and challenging j...

 It is a known fact that innovators who have changed the world faced criticism at first. A case in point is Thomas Edison who invented the electric bulb. He failed over1000 times but did not quit. What an inspiring spirit? God has given each one of us the power to dream. The question is why is it a few of people who use that free gift? The strange thing is that we always laugh or discount our dreams. Every day we get over 200 thoughts and unfortunately most of them are negative. The question is that what do we do to the positive ones? Dr. Myles Munroe noted that the wealthiest place in the world is the cemetery. This is because that is where dreams that were not completed reside. The question is why should we allow our dreams to go to the cemetery. What can we learn from those who accomplished great things. What can we learn from the late Nelson Mandela and Mother Tereza who used their gifts to serve and change the world. Today it is easy to find youths placing all their faith in g...

 A few years back there was a story in the media of an online investment club that encouraged many women to save and invest. Indeed many women responded to the call and in the end they lost their money. Such incidents are very common in society where companies open up and brand themselves as "banks" and in no time they close and vanish with peoples' hard earned money. The financial literacy training curriculum by Bank of Uganda has a module about Financial Services Providers which shows the various types of financial service providers and the regulators . This is important to note because the financial services industry is changing at a very fast rate and thus it is important for the common person to know the regulators so as to reduce risks. For example insurance is an important component of society . The question is where should the customer go to find out the right kind of information.  There are very many financial institutions that are regulated by Bank of Uganda and...

 Every human being has an infinite potential. This secret is hidden in the so many books that I have read. By reading a financial book we are literally changing our financial destiny .Imagine reading a book written by President Donald Trump. It is a shortcut to speaking with him directly. Is it any wonder that people who have changed the world are readers? There is a big correlation between our access to information and the nature of financial decisions that we make.  I have spent the last 5 years training grassroot youths about financial literacy and it has been an experience that has taught me that a person's life can literally change in a minute. When we intentionally enable the youths to access the right information they are bound to make the right financial decisions. A number of youths base their financial decisions on their peers. In this way many end up misusing their money on wrong priorities. In the New Vision of 24th May 2025 there was a headline that read that many...

 At a recent Trainer of Trainers Financial Literacy Training session organized by Bank of Uganda  it came to my attention that it is important to reflect on the real meaning of financial literacy. Without a clear purpose every asset is bound to be misused. Financial literacy training is so critical to this nation that sometimes if it is simply used an obvious phrase it may not yield the much needed results.  Financial Literacy is defined as having the knowledge , skills and confidence to manage money well given the circumstances. We all have heard of examples of Ugandan sportsmen who earned a lot of money and ended up financially distressed. What caused that? We have witnessed some people who got international deals and invested money in unresearched projects and lost it all. What does this mean? Financial literacy is a never ending journey . There are those who are good at earning money but keeping it and  growing it becomes a major challenge. I have spent the last...

 Did we know that great companies started as mere ideas.? Every thing that we use from the houses to the cars that we drive were mere ideas. Did we know that the inventor of the light bulb was once criticized? Had Thomas Edison quit what would have happened? Did we know that on a daily basis the mind receives over 70,000 thoughts and most of them are negative? This means if we are not careful we can easily be defeated in our pursuits. The late Dr. Myles Munroe noted that the wealthiest place in the world is the cemetery. This is where unbuilt companies reside. Dr. Myles Munroe challenged us that we should let our ideas be candidates for the grave. As a financial literacy trainer/coach I have seen first hand how fear can stop many youths and women from dreaming. Some of the trainees attest that before training they feared to approach banks. It should be noted that fear is called False Evidence Appearing Real . So many of the things we fear are myths. Whereas other wealthy people are...

 Lives have been lost due to finances. Money is a very controversial topic and it becomes dangerous if it is not adequately discussed in society. Everyone wakes up in the morning to look for money. The question is why is it elusive to the majority and a few are able to master it. The other question is, is there enough money for everyone in the world? A few years back two young men were intercepted by the public after gunning down a prominent businessman in town. On 24th May 2025 there was a headline in the New Vision that noted that a number of Uganda's youths were addicted to gambling. In fact the article showed that a number of students had dropped out of school because of  gambling. The question is, where does this leave Uganda's development if most of the youths who form the majority in the country are addicted to gambling? A few years back a number of Ugandans lost their hard earned money to a company that promised them instant and abnormal returns. Many lost their funds ...

 We live in a highly volatile and complex world. With global aid cuts the employment world has become very unpredictable and complex. Uganda's population is growing at a very fast rate and the resources are really scarce. On the contrary we need money to survive every day. Whereas it is tough to live every day what about at that time when we are out of work. We have heard of cases of people who retired and have depleted their savings by the second year of retirement. The New Vision report shows that most of the informal employees struggle to save. This increases vulnerability and dependence, factors which widen the poverty gap.  There are those leaders who we aspire to emulate in their retirement. They knew that one day they would not be in those offices and thus used their resources to invest wisely. On the other hand there is a case of a company which conned off many Ugandans of their hard earned money and some of them used their pension funds.  These scenarios show us ...

 The question is ,why do some leaders succeed financially even when they have faced various obstacles in the past compared to others? Could it be because of luck ? There may be very many factors but what I want to dwell on today is the clarity of purpose. We live in a generation which wants instant results. Many people have got large sums of money and have lost it in the instant. The greatest reason that comes up is lack of a clear why.  There is a youth that I trained 2 years back in financial literacy training. She was in financial distress. Luckily she had a good attitude. She accepted the financial mistakes she had made in the past and was willing to change her habits. Since we are creatures of habit, she accepted to live within her means and to open an account with the bank. Gradually she realized positive changes in her life and that built her confidence. Today she is doing well and is an inspiration to other friends.  For the last 5 years I have been providing gras...

 A few years ago a group of university students formed an investment club. Today the investment club is worth billions in assets and is involved in real estate. Over 70% of Uganda's population is below 30 years. One of the biggest challenges that youths face is access to decent employment opportunities. Different stakeholders are doing their best to create opportunities for the youths. Equity Bank has for the last 5years been offering free financial literacy training to youths across the country and enabling them to access loans at affordable interest rates. There are so many success stories of youths who previously feared stepping into the banking hall and today they are formidable entrepreneurs.  The youths in Uganda are very enterprising and just require mentorship and training in best practices of group management . There are so many youths who have formed groups but these groups are struggling to keep afloat. It is critical that the leaders of such groups seek support fro...