Effective Financial Education Requires a Systematic Approach and Joint Action


29/11/2023

The CBCG and the Capital Market Authority (CMA) representatives participated in the annual meeting of the technical assistance project for financial education financed by the Dutch Ministry of Finance. The Project aims to support the participating countries in designing and implementing financial education activities. Apart from Montenegro, the Project includes Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania and Ukraine. The meeting was held on 23 and 24 November 2023 in The Hague.


The CMA President Željko Drinčić led the Montenegrin delegation. Participating in the panel titled “Financial education and financial literacy: new challenges and strategic priorities”, Mr. Drinčić presented the Montenegro’s experiences regarding financial education and plans for the next period. “Our activities, outlined in the Programme for the Development of Financial Education 2023-2027, whose implementation is coordinated by the CBCG, aim at providing Montenegrin citizens with access to quality financial education to acquire and improve the knowledge and skills necessary for responsible financial decisions”, said Drinčić. The CMA President also highlighted the challenges Montenegro faces when designing and implementing financial education activities and emphasised the importance of a systemic approach to this issue and the joint action of all relevant institutions.


The Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who has been advocating increasing access to financial services, improving consumer protection, and financial literacy in the Netherlands and globally for years, addressed the meeting participants.


The discussions in which the CBCG and CMA representatives and colleagues from the mentioned countries took part concluded that financial education programmes should be implemented continuously, starting from the earliest age. To achieve better results, these activities must include all relevant subjects - the education system, regulators, and private and non-governmental sectors. The meeting highlighted the need for effective financial education programmes due to dynamic technological progress and digitalisation.