Financial Education Programme for Overseas Filipino Workers
BDO Foundation, Inc.
INTRODUCTION
In order to help improve financial literacy levels in the Philippines, BDO Foundation launched the financial education program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in partnership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Central Bank of the Philippines. The programme is significant as the Philippines remains as one of the top recipients of remittances next only to India, China and Mexico. Through this ongoing partnership project, the Foundation aims to help strengthen OWWA’s financial education initiatives for migrant workers and recipients of remittances. It also aims to support the implementation of BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion. The hope is that, in the long term, OFWs will attain financial stability so they can come back to the country and stay with their families and contribute more productively to the Philippine economy.
FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY
The financial education program for OFWs is in line with BDO’s core business, which is banking and financial services. It helps nurture the reputation of the company as a staunch advocate of financial inclusion. BDO Foundation, OWWA and BSP developed three financial education videos and training modules for the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminars, Post- Arrival Orientation Seminars and general orientations for OFW families, tackling lessons on saving, financial planning, debt management, investing, entrepreneurship and avoiding scams. Last year, the Foundation started production on three additional videos, covering such topics as lifestyle inflation, identifying needs vs. wants, the responsible use of credit, investments, insurance and retirement planning. To deploy the programme effectively, the partners organised workshops for master trainers from all over the Philippines. The training sessions were aimed at helping improve the teaching of financial literacy lessons in the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminars, which OWWA conducts for OFWs before they leave the Philippines.ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT
BDO Foundation’s corporate citizenship initiative for migrant workers is the first of its kind in the country. Unlike similar endeavors, the programme is long term and takes into consideration existing government measures. The financial education programme is now integrated seamlessly and institutionalised in the existing training and capacity building initiatives of OWWA. The Foundation, OWWA and BSP facilitated the training of 500 trainers tasked to conduct Pre- Departure Orientation Seminars nationwide. The programme benefited 2.3 million OFWs in the short term. The initiative is expected to impact an estimated 10.2 million migrant workers when fully implemented. In line with its financial inclusion advocacy, BDO Foundation collaborated with BSP and the Asian Development Bank for the development of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for financial education programmes. The M&E framework will enable the partners to assess the gains of financial education programmes and identify opportunities for growth.FUTURE DIRECTION
A memorandum of agreement signed by BDO Foundation, OWWA and BSP paved the way for the continuance of the financial education programme in the future. To ensure the sustainability of the initiative, OWWA leadership issued a memorandum of instruction, directing accredited providers of the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminars to adhere to the educational modules developed by the partners. The memorandum was meant to guarantee compliance with the programme, uniformity in the delivery of the prescribed financial literacy messages and the high quality of training by the subject matter experts. Embracing its role as a champion of financial inclusion, BDO Foundation is making significant strides to help raise the country’s financial literacy levels. By sharing lessons on financial responsibility with migrant workers and their families, the CSR arm of BDO Unibank promotes financial inclusion, contributes to the development of a financially literate citizenry and supports nation-building.
BDO Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO
Unibank, the largest bank in the Philippines. Founded in 2008, the
Foundation aims to contribute to nation-building by addressing the
needs of underserved sectors of society.
