National Bank of Georgia presented the National Strategy for Financial Education at the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metekhi Palace hotel today. Koba Gvenetadze, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, presented the new document and summarized the past 7 years of financial education.

The previous financial education strategy, developed in 2016, was largely based on international experience and best practices. The strategy emphasized the importance of financial education, raising awareness of the benefits of financial education, aiming to enhance coordination and cooperation among stakeholders and develop opportunities for financial education. The new document, developed based on country experience, addresses current challenges of financial education in a more targeted way.

International partners - German Ambassador Ernst Peter Fischer, Flore-Anne Messy, Acting Deputy Director, OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, and Angelique van Haasteren, representative of the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands, spoke about the progress of Georgia in terms of raising financial education and the activities of the past years. In their speech, they noted that Georgia holds one of the leading positions in the region in terms of projects implemented in recent years. As financial education is a common concern for all countries, Georgia, in this regard, is one of the worthy partners in the European Community.

 

"Raising financial education as an integral part of the framework for the protection of consumer rights is one of the tasks of the National Bank of Georgia, remaining a priority during my tenure as governor. The essence and importance of the issue required additional clarification years ago. Today, 6 years after the adoption of the first strategy, I assume we can safely say that the quintessence and significance of financial education no longer needs to be explained or justified. We all agree that it is a set of essential competencies that consumers can use to improve their financial well-being. A high level of financial education is important also for the financial sector. They would greatly benefit and take less risks if they dealt with well-informed and responsible customers. Eventually, this would lead to a sound environment in the country, where both individuals and the financial sector act wisely and enjoy mutual benefits when making decisions. I must say that the National Bank of Georgia has been on this path together with many local and international partners and joint efforts are behind all the achievements", said NBG Governor Koba Gvenetadze.

"We are talking about the level of financial education of the public, high enough to allow members of the public to navigate and have the means, knowledge and ability to find the necessary information, analyze it and make useful rational decisions. Financial education is related to the protection of consumer rights and transparency. The coordination role of the NBG in this regard is very important”, said Irakli Kovzanadze, Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee of the Parliament.

The new National Strategy for Financial Education will be the main reference document for any party interested in dissemination of financial education. The strategy will define priority areas and tasks and promote cooperation between stakeholders in a more practical format. Providing greater access to financial education by covering all target groups, the document will support implementing tailored activities and ensuring the sustainability and continuity of these activities.

Representatives of legislative and executive authorities, non-governmental organizations, financial sector, educational institutions, diplomatic corps and media participated in the event.

                                                                                                                         
                                                                                           National Strategy for Financial Education of Georgia 2023