The partnership for Financial Education for Vulnerable Adults (FEVA) brings together the most important initiatives in adult financial education from Eastern and Western Europe.

 

www.mfc.org.pl, a non-profit organization established in 1997, operates as a microfinance resource centre and network of 101 microfinance institutions in 26 countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We facilitate the development of microfinance through the provision of technical assistance, training, action research and policy projects. One of our strategic initiatives is MFC Financial Education Program (FEP), which aims to raise financial literacy levels of low-income households and other vulnerable groups in Europe and Central Asia. We strongly believe that financial education is a tool to smooth the road out of poverty for low-income households and build inclusive financial sectors. We see it as a tool to better realize our mission objectives. Currently, within the FEP we focus on raising awareness and building skills of local development organizations and financial service providers to deliver financial education workshops. We have on-going activities in Poland, Russia, Bosnia and the Caucasus countries. Our educational package ‘Plan Your Future’ is currently available in Polish, English, Russian and Serbo-Croatian. Our approach is bottom-up and participatory. We always involve end beneficiaries in the design phase in line with the community development best practices. Based on these interactions and more structured research during last 5 years we have got firm understanding of low-income and vulnerable populations’ financial needs and behaviors. Kindly find more information at www.mfc.org.pl/finedu. Our experience shows that there is a need for more coordination between different actors that are involved in financial education for vulnerable groups. Within FEVA MFC gathers like-minded partners from European countries to initiate sharing experience, networking and dialogue on best practices in increasing financial literacy levels of vulnerable adults. We would like to facilitate development and dissemination of innovations in financial education across European countries.

 

is a non-governmental not-for-profit institution that was founded as a grass-root development organization in Slovakia in 1995. Mission of Integra is to help people build their businesses and become 'Islands of Integrity' so that they can participate in the transformation of their communities. Integra is achieving its mission and purpose through three strategic programs: 1) Micro-Enterprise Development for women: training, consulting and micro-credit for disadvantaged women and their small enterprises. 2) Social Enterprise Development: promotion of corporate social responsibility among SMEs, consulting services and facilitation of investment resources for social enterprises. 3) International Development: technical assistance and resource development for partner organizations in other transitional and developing countries, with focus on Balkans and East Africa. Integra Foundation is a member of several international networks and associations: Microfinance Center, European Microfinance Network, International Association of Investors in Social Economy, Micah Network, Integral Network, International Fair Trade Association. We aim to learn from and share our experience in the FEVA project with other organizations how to train disadvantaged target groups financial management especially those who are either unemployed or from less developed regions in the country with higher rate of unemployment. Those persons usually are prone to be more in debts and unable to manage their finances.

 

was founded in 1990, at the beginning of Hungary's transition to democracy. Its mission has been to contribute to the emergence and support of the non-profit sector, through a number of different programs, with a special focus on the Roma community. Autonomia is implementing IDA (Individual Development Account) Program in Tolna county and cooperating with Mikrohitel ZRt. in Roma Entrepreneurial Program. In both programs, we have financial education module. The curricula have been developed by Autonomia and the training courses are held by the staff of Autonomia (with emphasized role of local counsellors). We are eager to learn more about experience gained in other countries by organisations interested in the same field. We would like to get know methods and curricula of other NGOs and professional organisations and to adapt them because we found that the financial skills are missing in the Roma communities and this makes the more vulnerable and explore them for exploitation by unofficial money-lenders (usury) or push them into other ‘bad financial circles’.

works mainly with adult immigrants wanting to set up a new enterprise or to improve an existing one. The financial training for this target group is important for both household finance and enterprise financial training. Many of the customers of NCN has faced economic hardship and has a great need for enhanced financial literacy. NCN has 10 years of experience with the target group immigrants. However, it also works with financially excluded Norwegian people, for instance those wishing to leave welfare and become self employed. The organisation have educational programmes in partnership with training agencies in many parts of the country, and persons from partnership agencies will also participate in the mobilities in order to learn from international experience. We have a particular interest in exchanging experience of how to assist and train Roma population, who come as beggars to Norway, in partly in Norway and partly in their own country of origin in partnership with partners there (E.G. INTEGRA).

 

www.european-microfinance.org - with 54 members from 21 countries in Europe considers that adult financial education is crucial once you address social exclusion. Providing microcredit to support the development of self employment and/or micro enterprise development is not enough, especially once you target people at risk of poverty. Some EMN members have started to develop financial adult education programmes and are very interested to exchange with others.

 

is community foundation that supports small and medium size businesses and entrepreneurs from marginalized social groups. One of the main target groups for REDC is the Roma community. REDC provides micro-financial services (micro credit program), consultations, vocational training ( licensed from National Agency for Professional Education), Business incubation ( 3500 m2 under roof and 5000 m2 opened space available), organization of seminars and business forums for the community, interacting with local institutions and other businesses, REDC maintained Internet portal Sliven.Net. Within the FEVA project REDC would like to explore the experience of other organizations and to establish collaboration with organizations committed to increase financial literacy levels of vulnerable adults in EU countries.

 

www.integraromania.ro - has 7 years of experience in micro enterprise development programs for different at risk groups. Our mission is to offer social and economical opportunities to marginalized and disadvantaged people so they could participate in building an ethical and prosperous Romania. We understand that our target groups need assistance in many areas because their needs are very complex. We offer a package of services to our clients, which include business plan training, financial education, adult training, micro lending, business consulting and market access. We work in urban and rural areas as well. Mentoring and coaching are essential components of our programs. We are also involved as an organization in building local and national partnerships. In order to become better consultants and trainers, we join this project because it offers us the opportunity to learn from other organizations' experience. The partners involved in this present FEVA project will build a platform to share their experience and create together a database of practical and useful information and curricula on financial literacy for vulnerable people.

 

is a research and consulting company for financial services whose team has been involved in the European financial literacy discussion for almost a decade. Based upon sound financial education know-how, EVERS & JUNG develops innovate instruments that allow consumers to better handle their private finances and carries out studies – e.g. the first study on the financial needs of the Turkish community in Germany and the dominant migrant groups in UK, Netherlands and Spain (2005). At present EVERS & JUNG is developing the mediator programme “(f)in-fit” which enables young adults with migrational background to build up basic financial capabilities and disseminate this into their communities. Within FEVA EVERS & JUNG aims to exchange good-practice how to build up a sufficient level of financial literacy in those socioeconomic groups who are the most prone to the effects of a misallocation of their private finances. Furthermore EVERS & JUNG worked out empirically that in most of the highly developed European Countries there is not a problem in the availability of financial literacy programmes but in their outreach. Often those are not reached who would benefit the most. EVERS & JUNG would be very interested to learn about methods how to overcome this dilemma.