Over 1,000 credit officers benefited from the “Financial Literacy Training of Trainers (TOT)” course prepared by Silatech which is offered to members of Sudan’s banking sector in the country’s capital, Khartoum.

Held earlier this month, the three-day Financial Literacy TOT course was incorporated by Silatech, into the Sudan Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (Sabfs)’s four-month overall microfinance development programme.

The course was initially offered to twenty instructors from Sabfs. These newly trained instructors delivered the overall four-month programme and will integrate this financial literacy content into the overall course, a statement from the company said.

The financial literacy course offered participants an in-depth understanding of the principles of financial literacy, including budgeting, saving, financial negotiations, debt management, and bank (financial) services. It also helped develop attendees’ core skills in listening, effective communication and contracting.

The course also highlighted the importance of improving financial literacy, particularly amongst youth in order to enable current and potential clients make more informed decisions about products and services offered by the Sudanese microfinance sector.

Justin Sykes, Silatech’s director of Microenterprise, said: “This training is the first in a series of engagements in which Silatech is planning in Sudan to build the capacity of microfinance institutions and youth serving institutions to provide non-financial support to their clients and beneficiaries.”

“The imparting of financial literacy, particularly for youth, in essential in helping individuals to make informed decisions about financial services and the relevance of them for their life needs.”

“We are delighted with the results our training workshops have produced in other countries within the region, and are very happy to be able to share the same knowledge among members of the banking and microfinance sector in Sudan. We also hope that our efforts will help support the larger strategy pursued by the government of Sudan to raise awareness of the microfinance sector and strengthen its efficiency,” added Sykes.

Dr Awatif Yousif, Sabfs’ president, said: “The development of the microfinance sector in Sudan is central to Sudan’s overall economic development. Increasing financial inclusion alone is not the solution.”

“Alongside efforts to increase the provision of financial products and services a parallel investment in financial literacy must be made so that microfinance clients have the knowledge to make best use of financing.”

“That is why we believe that this financial literacy delivered with support from Silatech is very beneficial as it will provide a large number of credit officers across Sudan with the required skills to be passed on to their respective clients.”

Through its partnerships with financial institutions, NGOs, businesses, and various youth-serving organisations, including educational institutions, Silatech now has microenterprise operations in 12 countries across the region.

Through a strategy of extensive partnerships, seed financing and technical assistance, the company has been able to raise over $35 million of co-funding for its microenterprise programs, making it one of the largest providers of youth-focused microenterprise services in the Middle East and North Africa. – TradeArabia News Service