Financial literacy may be defined as the ability to make informed judgments and to take effective decisions regarding the use and management of money. It is a multi-dimensional concept, which requires both breadth and depth of knowledge. It’s about the individual’s financial knowledge and understanding, his financial skills and competence, and his financial responsibility. How complex can this be, and how behavioural economics play out in this context of personal and household finance?

To what extent do individuals and families understand risks around their daily lives? If risk understanding and risk management are part of financial literacy and financial success, what are the basic concepts and minimum measures a household should take when it comes to insurance? How can risk management enhance households’ financial security?

Fintech apps, whether for budgeting, payment, banking, investing or tracking daily spending, are starting to change people’s attitude towards managing their money. Clients are appreciating being able to keep tabs on their money in real time to initiate and complete transactions that would otherwise have involved a lot of hassle in the traditional face-to-face way.

They can send and receive money, transfer money between accounts and to other people, set savings goals, check how they are spending, and monitor their spending styles. The landscape will further diversify as new propositions become increasingly popular with customers demanding digital-first solutions. Digital challengers have been steadily taking customers away from incumbent institutions for a few years.

These digital tools offer a fresh approach to managing money. The question is how can we make a paradigm shift in accelerating the adoption of these tools across the Arab countries, especial among the informal sectors? What collaborations are required to accelerate that?

The importance of financial education in the workplace continues to grow as policy makers and stakeholders step up their attempts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their financial education and financial inclusion initiatives. Moreover, in the current context, working adults are constantly confronted with issues affecting their immediate and long-term financial resilience and well-being.

What opportunities does workplace offer for financial education? How should workplace financial education be designed? The session will cover understanding the audience, identifying appropriate delivery mechanisms, creating or finding appropriate content, incentivising participation, evaluating outcomes and learning from the experiences of other existing schemes. Panellists will also discuss their experiences and provide practical advice on what policy makers, HR leaders and financial education providers could do to improve the financial literacy of employees.

How households can drive their finances and leverage a growth mindset to build their future success. What are the key principles of portfolio construction and management, including asset allocation, portfolio risk levels and governance, and how combining with factors you can control, such as reducing management costs, builds a more robust long-term financial plan?

Gender equality is a smart economy that contributes to reducing poverty and enhancing family’s financial flexibility of the fam. However, women in the Arab region as a whole contribute only 19% of the GDP, compared to a global average of 37%. The empowerment of women has an intrinsic value in itself, and effective development outcomes. Our countries have made great progress for women in education, health and jobs, but there are still challenges related to economic opportunities and women's financial and economic empowerment.

What are the main challenges to women’s economic empowerment, and what are the best practices and pioneering initiatives regionally and globally to incentivize women’s active participation in the national economy?

Similarly, how are young entrepreneurs in the region financially empowered to establish and support successful projects? How can they access finance and new markets? Are there enough financial institutions and funds to lend to young people so that they can start businesses? How are these loan products designed and marketed, how easy/difficult is access to financing, and what are the most successful experiences in this domain?

Over the last two decades or so, there have been a few social banks and microfinance institutions in most Arab countries, e.g., (Al Khair Bank and Hope Fund in Bahrain), (Nasser Social Bank in Egypt), (Khalifa Fund and Rashid Fund in UAE), (social loans provided by Iraq’s Social Affairs Ministry), (Reyada Fund in Oman), (subsidies for youths’ startups in Morocco). These have been created to economically empower lower-income families and informal sector individuals to start or accelerate their small businesses. How well have these institutions and funds performed against their mandates, what success stories have emerged, and what more could they do? More importantly, how much households and the informal sectors understand about their workings and benefits?