MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financial Literacy Centre of Kosovo Provides Curriculum, Textbooks for Primary Schools

The Financial Literacy Centre (FLC), which was established in Kosovo in 2017 by the Central Bank of Kosovo and the Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), recently helped build financial literacy into the curriculum of Kosovo’s Ministry of Education. The programming includes “an inclusive approach featuring characters of various physical abilities and gender presentation” introducing “learners to responsible money use, including savings, tracking spending, and more.” The effort includes supplying 900 schools in the country with sets of five different textbooks, targeted for students in first through fifth grades.

Markus Aschendorf, Chair of the EFSE Development Facility, said, “Good money habits start at an early age. And as a fund dedicated to sustainable, responsible finance, we are pleased to contribute to this on-the-ground, positive impact for the success and stability of Kosovo’s next generation.”

Founded in 2017, FLC “advances its founders’ joint mission to equip Kosovar citizens with the knowledge and skills to bolster financial well-being – and thus support economic prosperity as a whole.” The size of the organization’s budget has not been released.

Founded in 2006, the EFSE Development Facility provides technical assistance, consulting and training services to support capacity building within institutions supporting financial inclusion. From its inception through June 2020, the facility has supported 151 organizations, including 56 microfinance institutions and 52 commercial banks.

EFSE is a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle providing “long-term” funding for micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) as well as households via partner retail institutions. EFSE was established in 2005 by German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (which is also known by its German acronym BMZ) and the EU’s European Commission. The fund is privately managed, with Oppenheim Asset Management Services of Luxembourg acting as fund manager and Finance in Motion GmbH of Germany acting as fund advisor. EFSE operates in 16 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. As of March 2020, the fund reports outstanding investments of EUR 979 million (USD 1.15 billion). As of June 2020, EFSE holds a microfinance label from Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency (LuxFLAG), an NGO that certifies that impact investment vehicles actually invest as advertised.

By Romil Pandey, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

EFSE press release
https://www.efse.lu/news-events/detail/kosovo-targets-early-education-in-responsible-finance-with-dedicated-childrens-story-series/

Central Bank of Kosovo homepage
https://bqk-kos.org/

EFSE fact sheet June 2020
https://www.efse.lu/studies-publications/publications/detail/efse-at-a-glance-q1-2020/

EFSE Development Facility report September 2020
https://www.efse.lu/studies-publications/publications/detail/efse-development-facility-at-a-glance-q2-2020/

Past MicroCapital article on EFSE
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-efse-lending-2-4m-to-bt-leasing-md-to-support-mses-in-moldova-during-coronavirus-pandemic/

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